September 17 (SeeNews) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Monday it will support Romania's National Museum of Art by joining forces with a a local non-governmental organisation.
The partnership with the Friends of the National Museum of Art of Romania Association will focus on enhancing the value of Romania’s cultural assets and promoting them in the country and abroad, the EBRD said in a press release.
Under the initiative, the bank is planning to finance projects linked to cultural heritage sites, contributing to the development of cultural heritage tourism, as well as assisting with product and value-chain development.
Moreover, the EBRD will attract expertise from the Smithsonian Institution and the United Nations World Tourism Organization to support the museum in broadening access, revitalising cultural awareness, and strengthening its collections and its own brand.
The agreement is part of the EBRD’s new initiative on cultural heritage-led investment and aims to promote an integrated, participative and sustainable business model for the use of cultural heritage resources as drivers for economic growth.
The cooperation was formalised in a memorandum of understanding signed on Monday in Bucharest by EBRD president Suma Chakrabarti and Ana Maria Mihaescu, president of the Friends of the National Museum of Art of Romania Association.
The National Museum of Art of Romania is located in the Royal Palace, in central Bucharest, and features collections of medieval and modern Romanian art, as well as the international collection assembled by the royal family.
EBRD president Chakrabarti is currently in a two-day visit in Romania, as the Romanian capital is hosting the summit of the Three Seas Initiative - a European project launched in 2016 with the aim of strengthening trade, infrastructure, energy and political cooperation among 12 countries bordering the Adriatic Sea, the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea.