Skopje, 10 July 2025 (MIA) - Ohrid’s status as a world natural and cultural heritage site has been preserved. This success is the result of an active, committed and coordinated diplomacy, in cooperation with partners and friends from the international community, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Timcho Mucunski said Thursday.

The Minister said together with Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski they have been actively involved in the process since the first day.

“Together we showed that when there is clear will, coordination and a responsible approach, the results are inevitable. We led intensive talks, we conducted diplomatic consultations and built joint positions with World Heritage Committee members,” Mucunski said.

Mucunski said the new government has inherited a situation that has arisen because of “years of neglect, irresponsible management and lack of meaningful measures by the previous government”.

“Instead of prevention and responsibility, they left a problem that demanded an urgent solution. Our approach was different – not declarative, but committed and focused on results,” Mucunski said.

The Foreign Minister said this is just the first step, with obligations remaining for long-term protection, sustainable management and rebuilding of trust in the institutions and the state’s capacity to look after its most valuable and cultural heritage.

Mucunski also thanked the team from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade for their “expertise, self-sacrifice and quiet but key work behind the scenes” that contributed to this decision by UNESCO, which, he said, “means a lot to us as a country”.

Earlier on Thursday, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee decided to postpone the inscription of the Ohrid region on the List of World Heritage in Danger until next year.

At its 47th session, currently taking place in Paris, the committee gave the Municipality of Ohrid and the central government another year to meet their commitments.

They need to follow the recommendations of UNESCO's Reactive Monitoring mission reports on the state of the Ohrid region and report to UNESCO on their progress by Feb. 1, 2026. 

Photo: MFAFT