By Talha Ozturk
BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) – Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday held an international conference on culture.
The fourth Ministerial Conference of the Council of Ministers of Culture of South-East Europe (CoMoCoSEE) in the capital Sarajevo saw the participation of officials from Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia.
The conference held at the parliament was closed to the media.
In a news conference following the meeting, Adil Osmanovic, the minister of civil affairs of Bosnia, recalled the council was founded in 2004 when the iconic Old Mostar Bridge was reconstructed.
“We have a very good regional economic alliance. So far, we have signed many cultural projects, ” said Osmanovic.
The bridge in Bosnia's southern Mostar city was built between 1557 and 1566 by Ottoman Sultan Suleiman. In 1993, during the Bosnian War, the Croat forces destroyed it.
Bulgarian Culture Minister Boil Banov, who took over the rotating presidency from Bosnia this year, said they will continue to develop and preserve the common cultural heritage of the region.
“Our work will begin with the creation of new strategies to protect the cultural and natural heritage of the region. We plan to create a financial mechanism, ” said Banov.
Turkish Deputy Culture and Tourism Minister Huseyin Yayman said the conference is relevant and result-oriented.
“This cooperation is a project to develop friendship and peace between the countries, ” he said.
Yayman said the results of the meeting are important.
“Such meetings are valuable in terms of cultural solidarity, regional business association, and diplomacy in the Balkans, ” said Yayman.
A joint declaration was signed by 12 countries to increase cooperation in the field of culture and economics.
