PM Spajić at UNESCO Headquarters: We will protect Kotor’s world heritage status at all costs

Prime Minister Milojko Spajić is paying a working visit to Paris, where he met at UNESCO headquarters with the newly elected Director-General, Khaled El-Enany, to discuss the preservation of Kotor’s status on the World Heritage List and the strengthening of cooperation between Montenegro and this international organization.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Spajić reaffirmed the strong commitment of the Government of Montenegro to protecting the universal values of the natural and cultural-historical area of Kotor.

Today I am here to convey a very clear message: we will do everything necessary to preserve Kotor’s UNESCO status. We are determined, with the aim of safeguarding the outstanding universal value of the inscribed property, to meet the recommendations of the Committee within the prescribed timeframe, Prime Minister Spajić stated.

He recalled that the Government, through recently adopted amendments to the legislative framework, has demonstrated full institutional and political capacity to respond to all recommendations of the Committee and to ensure sustainable management of an area of exceptional importance for national identity and international reputation.

Director-General El-Enany welcomed the results achieved by the National Commission and noted that the fact that it is chaired for the first time by the Prime Minister sends a strong message of political will to find a lasting and sustainable solution to this issue.

We already see your results and we are ready to support you at the expert level to the fullest extent, so that by February we will have a report and an outcome we can all be proud of, said El-Enany.

Prime Minister Spajić concluded that Montenegro recognizes UNESCO as a committed partner in the mission of heritage preservation and in building a modern state founded on respect for history, culture and responsibility towards future generations.

The meeting was also attended by Majda Adžović, Minister of Public Works, and Petra Zdravković, Director of the Administration for the Protection of Cultural Properties.