The Secretariats of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe (EPA) and the UNESCO World Heritage Convention met on 4 April 2023 at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, to discuss possible future cooperation and synergies between the two programmes. The meeting was attended by Berta de Sancristobal, Head of the Europe and North America Unit and Helena Drobnà, Programme Specialist for Living Heritage at the World Heritage Centre, and Stefano Dominioni, Executive Secretary of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe.

During the meeting, the EPA and UNESCO Secretariats discussed ways to work together and promote each other's strengths in the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage. The meeting was an important step towards enhancing collaboration and cooperation between the two programmes. Both organizations share a common goal of promoting and preserving cultural heritage, and working together can help to achieve this goal more effectively. The mapping of UNESCO World Heritage Sites along the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe and the mapping of the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage lists of interest for the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe can also lead to more effective promotion of cultural routes and heritage sites, as well as to the preservation of intangible cultural heritage.

The UNESCO World Heritage is an Observer with the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes. Each year, UNESCO is invited to attend the EPA Statutory meetings (EPA Governing Board) and the Annual Advisory Forum. The 12^th Annual Advisory Forum on the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe will take place in Łódź, Poland, from 20-22 September 2023.