Dacic, Azoulay discuss Serbian cultural heritage in Kosovo-Metohija

PARIS - Serbian First Deputy PM and FM Ivica Dacic met with UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay on the sidelines of the 42nd UNESCO General Conference in Paris on Thursday to discuss the preservation of Serbian cultural heritage and deepening of the cooperation with UNESCO.

Dacic said UNESCO was extremely important to Serbia, especially when it comes to protection of its cultural heritage in Kosovo-Metohija.

He informed Azoulay of the course of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and pointed out attempts of rewriting history, the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

He also expressed full support to UNESCO activities and invited Azoulay to visit Serbia again before the end of her tenure.

Azoulay noted that Serbia's cooperation with UNESCO was on an upward trajectory and that her visit to Belgrade in 2019 had definitely contributed to that.

She said the role of Serbia - whose UNESCO Executive Board chairmanship ends during the UNESCO General Conference session - had been very important and positive in view of the fact the chairmanship had been underway "amid uneasy circumstances, with difficulties in reaching compromise on any issue, especially since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine," the statement also said.

Earlier, Dacic also met with Colombian counterpart Alvaro Leyva Duran to discuss opportunities for further development of bilateral relations in areas of mutual interest.