UNESCO World Heritage Committee Grants One-Year Extension for Implementation of Corrective Measures in the Ohrid Region
At today’s press conference, Minister of Culture and Tourism Zoran Ljutkov and Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade Timcho Mucunski announced the decision made by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee during its 47th session held in Paris.
“The UNESCO World Heritage Committee, at its 47th session currently taking place in Paris, decided to grant the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Albania an additional year to implement corrective measures — a timeframe to carry out activities for the preservation of the natural and cultural World Heritage of the Ohrid Region. This decision is the result of the joint efforts of the governments of both countries, which have been acknowledged by the Committee’s member states and other relevant institutions,” said Minister Ljutkov.
He added that the Committee’s decision serves as encouragement and motivation to seriously proceed with concrete actions that will enable the urgent implementation of the recommended corrective measures, based on the recommendations from the reactive monitoring missions in 2020 and 2024, as well as the Strategic Rehabilitation Plan.
“We must not allow the same attitude toward the Ohrid Region’s natural and cultural World Heritage as in the past. To remind, in the past seven years almost none of UNESCO’s recommendations were addressed — instead of protection, we witnessed inaction and systemic degradation. Citizens deserve to know that it was the previous government that brought Ohrid to the brink of losing its World Heritage status,” emphasized Ljutkov.
He stressed that the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, through the full engagement and coordination of all responsible institutions — including the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning, the Office for Protection of Cultural Heritage, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, and national experts — is fully committed to preserving the status of Ohrid and the Ohrid Region. “This is our obligation and duty to the state and to future generations,” Ljutkov said.
He expressed special gratitude to the entire team from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, as well as to the members of the delegation from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for their successful diplomatic mission.