Albanian Minister of Economy, Innovation and Culture, Blendi Gonxhja stated that he will pay maximum attention to the good management of the challenging process of changing the administration model of the Butrint National Park.

In a reaction on social networks, Gonxhja emphasized that in the capacity of Minister responsible for Cultural Heritage and at the same time as Chairman of the Management Board of the Foundation for the Management of Butrint (due to the function), he ensures the public opinion for maximum commitment and attention to the good management of the challenging process of changing the administering model of the universal cultural property of Butrint National Park, in full implementation of international standards and the current Albanian legal framework.

“The team and I also appreciate the role of AADF (Albanian American Development Fund) in the excellent collaboration to achieve optimal prerequisites to support the Butrint Management Foundation (BMF) for the valuable investment in absorbing the best contemporary technical and professional expertise worthy of importance of the world wealth in question, and necessary for the success of this extraordinary enterprise where the Albanian state is the leader, to the public interest benefit and where transparency and inclusiveness will be the key words,” said Gonxhja.

Located south of the country, almost 20 kilometers from the modern city of Saranda and overlooking the Corfu Channel, Butrint is the most important archaeological site and the most popular cultural attraction of Albania.

In July 2020, the Albanian government adopted an integrated management plan to protect the area and promote sustainable community-based and environmentally sensitive tourism. The plan led to the creation of a new autonomous body to oversee the area, the Butrint Management Foundation, run by the then Ministry of Culture.

/a.p./