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Winning 163 out of 178 votes at the election held during a plenary session of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s General Assembly in Paris, Vietnam was one of 27 countries elected as a member of its Executive Board, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated Thursday.
The Executive Board is one of the three constitutional organs of UNESCO, with the other two being the General Conference and Secretariat. It consists of 58 member states each with a four-year term of office.
Acting under the authority of the General Conference, the board examines the program of work for UNESCO and corresponding budget estimates submitted to it by its Director General.
Vietnam was a member of the UNESCO Executive Board for the 1978-83, 2001-05, 2009-13 and 2015-19 terms.
"Being elected to the UNESCO Executive Council with a very high number of votes affirms Vietnam's position and prestige in the international arena, showing that the international community supports Vietnam's active participation in international organizations," said Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son.
"Becoming a member of the UNESCO Executive Board creates conditions for Vietnam to directly participate in the process of building and approving important UNESCO decisions."
As a member of the board, Vietnam will actively contribute to UNESCO activities, especially in matters to reform the organization, develop policies and find solutions to protect and promote the interests of member states, and contribute to its current key programs.
"This is also a good opportunity to promote cooperation between Vietnam and UNESCO, take advantage of UNESCO ideas, initiatives, and resources, and open up new development spaces for Vietnam," said the minister.
Mai Phan Dung, general secretary of the National Committee of UNESCO Vietnam, said in the new term, Vietnam will make more active and proactive contributions to UNESCO's major programs and orientations in education, culture, natural sciences, social sciences, and information and communication.
