Egypt was reelected on Thursday as a member of UNESCO’s executive board after 141 out of 148 countries voted in favor of Egypt during the body’s general conference, state-run Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported.
Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ official spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zaid stated that reelecting Egypt for another four years proves the international community’s confidence in the diplomatic and cultural status of Egypt on the world stage.
Abu Zaid expressed his gratitude to the states that voted for Egypt, which competed with three other Arab countries in the UNESCO elections.
Egypt’s diplomatic mission to France, under the presidency of ambassador Ihab Badawi, and the foreign ministry’s unit of international candidatures, were the main contributors to Egypt winning the seat, following a campaign for the country’s candidacy that had been ongoing for the past weeks, Abu Zaid pointed out.
The Executive Board’s 58 members, elected by the General Conference, meet twice a year. The Executive Board oversees the implementation of the programmes adopted by the General Conference, UNESCO’s supreme governing body, which ended its 37th session at UNESCO on Wednesday 20 November.
Edited translation from al-Masry al-Youm
