City of Sarajevo contributes to the EU project – The Crossroads to Stay

The signing ceremony of the Cooperation Agreement between the City of Sarajevo and the Foundation Mozaik under the umbrella of the EU funded project, took place in the premises of the City of Sarajevo administration on Friday, 2 December 2011.

The Cooperation Agreement was signed by Mayor of City of Sarajevo, Mr. Alija Behmen and Director of the Foundation Mozaik, Mr. Zoran Puljić. It represents the contribution of the City of Sarajevo to the EU funded project The Crossroads to Stay. The aim of this project is to improve the tourism offer in the field of cultural tourism and thus stimulate tourists for a longer stay in the city through the theme of the museums and the diversity of architecture in Sarajevo.

Mr. Johann Hesse, Head of Operations Section for Economic Development, Natural Resources and Infrastructure at the EU Delegation to BiH also addressed the present on this occasion. Mr. Hesse underlined the importance of such EU support to promote tourism and culture that is one of a kind for the museums of Sarajevo, and stressed significance of such partnerships between the public sector and the civil society in ensuring sustainability and the local ownership over the project activities and results.

Mr. Hesse also thanked Mayor Behmen for all up to date close cooperation and support in joint actions that the EU supports in Sarajevo. Such joint actions include the project for the reconstruction of the City Hall (Vijecnica) and rehabilitation of the Trebevic cable car, for which the Swiss donated the equipment and the EU will fund its installation and the construction works in the amount of 2 million EUR.

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The project The Crossroads to Stay is funded from the EU the Instrument for the Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) in the amount of 300,000 €. By signing this Agreement, City of Sarajevo has become a co-financer of the project, contributing the funds in the amount of 96,741.00 KM.

The Foundation Mozaik, designer and implementer of the project, has already created three cultural and tourist routes in Sarajevo that connect and strengthen the local tourism offer, and thereby stimulate sustainable economic growth.

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