Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates Badr Abdelatty Saturday met with ambassadors of African countries accredited to UNESCO during his visit to the French capital Paris to lead Egypt’s delegation to meetings of UNESCO Executive Board, scheduled for Monday.
The meetings will see an election for the position of Director-General of the organization.
The meeting was attended by Amr Moussa, former Secretary-General of the Arab League and former Foreign Minister, as well as Khaled El Enany, Egypt’s candidate for the post of UNESCO Director-General.
Abdelatty expressed his appreciation for the support of African sister nations for Enany’s candidacy, noting that this nomination reflects the shared aspirations of the African continent to lead UNESCO toward achieving its noble goals, spreading knowledge, thought, and creativity.
He also voiced pride in the African Union’s issuance of three resolutions endorsing Enany’s nomination during successive African summits in February 2024, July 2024, and July 2025.
This, he said, affirms the official African alignment behind the Egyptian nomination in recognition of Enany’s competence and capability, and reflects the continent’s trust in Egypt to fulfill Africa’s shared ambitions, he added.
For his part, Enany praised the efforts of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry in leading his 30-month-long election campaign.
He noted that he had visited over 60 countries, meeting with officials, ministers, and intellectuals in all member states of the Executive Board.
These efforts enabled him to present a comprehensive vision for the future of UNESCO’s work that takes into account the interests of all member states, particularly the priorities of the African continent, he added.
The intense efforts of Egypt’s nomination campaign in Paris, led by the foreign minister, have resulted in the fact that Sri Lanka, Paraguay, Mexico, and Argentina officially declaring their support for Egypt’s nomination, joining a growing list of countries backing Enany for the position of UNESCO Director-General.
The Egyptian nomination campaign continues its efforts in Paris until the election, scheduled for Monday.
