Albanian Minister of Culture Mirela Kumbaro attended the meeting of Ministers of Culture of South-East Europe (CoMoCoSEE) on 24-25 February, 2016 in Istanbul. Focused on “Protection and Sustainable Management of Cultural Heritage in South-East Europe, the meeting was attended by ministers and high representatives of the CoMoCoSEE Member States such as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Turkey. Austria, Italy, UNESCO, European Commission, and Council of Europe, also attended the meeting as observers.
Among the objectives included in the joint declaration of Ministers, culture was strongly underlined as a factor of peace and stability in the region, in a world that is currently troubled by terrorism, extremism, refugees, and destruction of cultural heritage in various countries in ongoing armed conflict. The main purpose of the meeting was to discuss the further enhancement of the regional cooperation in the field of culture and development, and focus on supporting the implementation of the “Ohrid Regional Strategy for Cultural Cooperation in South-East Europe.”
At the end of the second forum, Albania took the rotating presidency of the Council, with these priority themes:
- Assessment of cultural properties, their protection, preservation and revitalization as a valuable asset and economic resource.
- Exchange of best and innovative practices in management and safer rules for the development of new forms of public-private partnerships.
- Strengthening the registration capacity, identification, and prevention of trafficking in cultural property
The third forum is expected to be held in Albania in early 2017.
