Balkan Nations Pledge to Use Cultural Heritage to Boost Ties
Eleven southeastern European countries pledged on Sunday at an UNESCO-organized summit in Bosnia to use their religious, cultural and historic heritage to boost ties, the FENA news agency reported.
In a joint declaration, adopted in Bosnia's historic southern town of Mostar, top officials from the 11 countries agreed to protect their cultural heritage as an "important basis for understanding and more intensive cooperation between our countries."
Senior officials from Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey also committed to strengthening regional cooperation through cultural exchanges, joint programs and improved local legislation on the issue.
They also said they would notably boost an exchange of information among young people with the aim of "honoring pluralism, the basis for harmony in our multi-cultural societies."
The one-day meeting was attended by the chairman of Bosnia's joint presidency Bakir Izetbegovic as well as several presidents including Bamir Topi of Albania, Gjorgje Ivanov of Macedonia and Filip Vujanovic of Montenegro.
Source: Agence France Presse
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