The Agreement for the Restoration of the Historic Center of Prizren has been signed

In the historic capital of Prizren, a decision already taken in the Kosovo Assembly, today was signed a letter of agreement for drafting the plan for revitalization and socio-economic integration of the local community in "Marin Barleti" Street in Prizren.

Agreement signed between the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, the EU Office in Kosovo, the EU Special Representative, the Municipality of Prizren, the British Embassy in Pristina and the NGO "Ec Ma Ndyshe".

The agreement foresees the implementation of the project in accordance with the objectives of the National Cultural Heritage Strategy of Kosovo (2017-2027) and aims at drafting a strategic document for management and maintenance of cultural heritage and sustainable return and integration of the local community through economic development; Preparation of preliminary projects for the restoration of 14 cultural heritage buildings on the Marin Barleti road; Prepare a preliminary urban design project for the Marin Barleti road, which includes technical aspects and urban furniture.

Minister Kujtim Gashi, who signed on behalf of MCYS, considered that the signing of the multilateral agreement is aligned with the implementation of the Law on Historic Center of Prizren and the Law on Cultural Heritage and in accordance with official obligations and duties. "On the occasion of signing the letter of agreement we are clearly showing our willingness and readiness to undertake some concrete actions for the Historic Center of Prizren", said Minister Gashi. "In pursuance of the Law on Cultural Heritage, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and as Minister, we have consistently been engaged in the process of inventorying and granting temporary protection status for cultural heritage assets, undertaking preventive measures- emergency interventions, but even as you may be aware we have implemented many capital projects in the CWC, "said the minister.

The Minister has informed about the actions taken by the MCYS for the treatment, conservation and restoration of heritage sites as well as the increase of the budget in this sphere. "In the year that we left, 21 buildings were handled by RBC in Prizren as an MCYS subordinate institution, whereas during this year dozens of conservation and restoration projects have been implemented in QHP; Prizren's QRTK has available about 1m Euros for conservation restoration interventions as well as emergency interventions for the QHP, said Minister Gashi, emphasizing the fact that taking over as Minister has multiplied the budget of the QHP in accordance with requirements and needs of this center. The Minister said inter alia that MCYS has financially supported civil society in preparing the CW Management Plan. "As Minister of MCYS, I highly appreciate the readiness of the parties involved in this process, in this case the EU office, the Embassy of the United Kingdom as well as the Municipality of Prizren for the signing of this letter of agreement, but I want to emphasize the fact that we should sign the memorandum of cooperation soon, in which all tasks and responsibilities of each institution will be clearly defined except for taking over the obligations and the burden we have", Minister Gashi concluded.