MINSK, 4 March (BelTA) – Belarus has been granted the observer status in the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe, Council of Europe's regional spokeswoman Tatiana Baeva told BelTA.
“On 1 March 2020 Belarus received an observer status in the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe. Today the agreement has 33 member states and one observer state - Belarus,” said Tatiana Baeva.
The observer status is granted for one year and does not imply financial contributions from the state. The Governing Board of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes granted the status to Belarus in response to the request sent by Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei on 12 February.
There are currently 38 cultural routes certified by the Council of Europe, which cover various aspects of European history and heritage. Many of them pass through Belarus. Among them are Viking Routes, European Route of Jewish Heritage, Baroque Route, European Route of Cistercian Abbeys, and Via Regia. There are only two cultural routes of the Council of Europe with network members in the country: the European Route of Jewish Heritage and Via Regia.
“Belarus offers great potential for the development of many other certified Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe, as well as new routes directly related to the cultural heritage of the country in the European perspective,” Stefano Dominioni, Executive Secretary of the EPA and Director of the European Institute of Cultural Routes, said.
Belarus ratified Council of Europe's European Cultural Convention in 1993.
