Participants included ministers and heads of delegations of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Serbia, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey. Italy and UNESCO also participated as observers.

In harmony with the Ohrid Regional Strategy for Culture approved in June 2014 at the previous meeting of the CoMoCoSEE, the Ministers of Culture of South-East Europe reaffirmed their commitment to further enhance regional and bilateral cooperation on culture, creativity and cultural heritage as a driving force for dialogue, good neighbourship, social cohesion and integration of the region - in the spirit of mutual respect and peaceful and sustainable development for the benefit of all. The ministers expressed gratitude to the European Union (EU), UNESCO and the Council of Europe (CoE) for their continuous support and valuable contribution to the endeavours of the CoMoCoSEE.

The declaration adopted unanimously on 25 February 2016 establishes that the CoMoCoSEE Member States agree to work towards the reinforcement of coordination at all levels between the cultural and other sectorial policies, including tourism, that are relevant to the enhancement and promotion of the role of culture for development. The overall objective is to create greater synergies and to develop an integrated approach towards the sustainable management and valorisation of culture as a driver for inclusive and equitable growth.

The improvement and implementation of statistical tools to assess and monitor the impact of culture for development shall be supported with the aim of further mainstreaming culture in development programmes, policies and strategies at all levels. The CoMoCoSEE Member States shall reinforce cooperation and develop a coordinated approach to support the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property, from and through the region, in full compliance with the relevant international standards and resolutions.

The CoMoCoSEE Member States shall step up efforts to make best use of all relevant regional, cross-border and/or transnational EU financing programmes, and avail themselves, whenever possible and appropriate, of cooperation with UNESCO, the CoE and the EU. As a shared priority for future action, the CoMoCoSEE Member States support the idea of exploring the possibility to develop sub-regional activities on the fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural property, as well as on the sustainable valorisation of cultural and natural heritage, in cooperation with UNESCO.