Balkan nations gather to boost ties

SARAJEVO - Agence France-Presse

Members of the delegation and presidents of southeastern European countries pose after the UNESCO summit, which focused on the cooperation between them. REUTERS photo

Eleven southeastern European countries pledged on June 3 at a UNESCO-organized summit in Bosnia to use their religious, cultural and historical heritage to boost ties, FENA news agency reported.

In a joint declaration, adopted in Bosnia’s historical 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 Turkey, Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia committed to strengthening regional cooperation through cultural exchanges, joint programs and improved local legislation on the issue.

They also said they would 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.