Minister of Culture Krastyu Krastev told reporters here on Tuesday that in any case Nesebar, on the Black Sea, will be preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Commenting on the upcoming 45th session of the World Heritage Committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, whose agenda includes inscribing Nesebar on the List of World Heritage in Danger, Krastev said that he has high hopes and believes that UNESCO understands Bulgaria, however, Bulgaria must convey its capacity for action more clearly.
The Minister said that many of the organization's recommendations have been implemented. The Bulgarian side made a proposal to extend the site's boundaries to include underwater archaeology. He specified that it is UNESCO's responsibility to approve any potential changes to the site boundaries, after which a conservation and management plan can be developed. Krastev stated that laws were broken many years ago, when changes to the local architecture were implemented, and added that measures should be taken to solve these problems.
Regarding UNESCO's recommendation that the Nesebar port terminal be moved outside the peninsula on which the old part of the town is located, Krastev pointed out that the port was established 40 years ago and cannot be closed, however, "experts are working on this problem".
The Culture Minister opened the 11th annual meeting of the Category 2 centres dedicated to the Intangible Cultural Heritage at the Small Basilica of Philippopolis in Plovdiv. Experts from Algeria, China, Iran, Japan, Peru, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates are visiting Plovdiv to discuss new trends and challenges in the field during working sessions.
The annual meetings of the Category 2 Centres began in 2013 in Sozopol, Bulgaria. After that, forums are organized in Paris, Guiyang, Shiraz, Algiers. The purpose of the regular meetings is to improve communication between the Centres and effective exchange between the network and UNESCO. The UNESCO Regional Centre Sofia is one of the eight centres dedicated to the conservation of global living heritage and is managed by an entirely Bulgarian team.
/RY/
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