Kosovo’s Deputy Foreign Minister Valon Murtezaj, director of the Ministry of Culture department for cultural heritage Vjollca Aliu and the director of the non-governmental organisation Cultural Heritage without Borders (CHwB) Sali Shoshi discussed in a meeting in Pristina the process of Kosovo’s membership in UNESCO.

Speaking about the failure of the first membership bid last year, Aliu said that there were no shortcomings in the technical aspect of the application while Murtezaj said Kosovo government is looking into the possibility of applying once again to UNESCO and added that they are working on overcoming challenges faced during the first application process. However, the decision of whether Kosovo will apply again this year, according to Murtezaj, will largely depend on developments in Kosovo and the region. Shoshi found the arguments provided by the government officials as “unacceptable.” He said the government should have come out with an analysis identifying the reasons that led to Kosovo’s failed membership bid. “The application is in November and the ministries have no agenda for UNESCO. If we work without an agenda, we are bound to fail again,” Shoshi said.