“We are grateful that the Committee recognized the efforts made by North Macedonia and therefore provided us with the necessary time to continue making significant steps towards the protection, preservation and sustainable management of the Ohrid Region. Working together with the Republic of Albania, we are determined to make the management of this location an example of cooperation, to ensure the integrity and authenticity of the Ohrid region and to pass it on to the next generations. The protection of nature and biodiversity remain our goal, such as the adoption of a Law on the proclamation of Studencisko Marsh as a protected area in category IV – Nature Park and a new Law on the proclamation of Lake Ohrid as a protected area in category III – Monument of Nature. We remain committed to the implementation of UNESCO’s recommendations for the preservation of this global treasure that belongs to all of us” – Minister Shukova said from Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where the 45th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee is being held and at which confirms that the Ohrid region remains on the list of world heritage.
The Macedonian delegation was led by the Minister of Culture, Bisera Kostadinovska-Stojcevska, and in addition to Minister Shukova, its member included the State Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Filip Tosevski and the director of the Directorate for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, Zoran Pavlov.
The Minister of Culture Bisera Kostadinovska-Stojcevska, in her speech during the session, emphasized that the prestigious status of the Ohrid Region remains, but the recommendations for its preservation also remain.
“The recommendations are not easy and their implementation requires our full attention. In order to achieve success in this, it is necessary for everyone to bear their part of the obligations – both the central government and the local self-government and the institutions and the citizens. After all, the obligations are correctly addressed. We have started many things from the recommendations, but their full realization remains,” she added.
During the stay in Riyadh, the Macedonian delegation had a meeting with the Secretary- General of the National Commission for Education, Science and Culture of UNESCO at the Ministry of Culture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Alblihed, where they discussed the development of cooperation between the two countries.
The importance of the international dialogue on cultural diplomacy and the commitment to the preservation of culture and natural heritage for the generations to come and within the framework of cooperation with our joint partner, UNESCO, was emphasized during the meetin.
There was also a common view that greater international cooperation and collective capacity building and commitment to the realization of the “green agenda” is needed to achieve a common vision for global sustainable development.
