Eduardo González
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, attended yesterday in Paris the XLI General Conference of UNESCO, on the eve of the trip of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, to the French capital to participate in the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the organization.
During his intervention in the General Policy Debate, Albares highlighted Spain’s support for two basic lines of action included in the UNESCO Strategy for 2022-29, approved during this Conference: Priority Africa and gender equality. He also expressed the Spanish government’s commitment to UNESCO, which is reflected in its presence in the organization’s programs and in the fact that Spain is the fourth country in the world on the list of World Heritage, the fifth in the list of Intangible Heritage, the second in the number of Global Geoparks and the first in the number of Biosphere Reserves and UNESCO Chairs.
Albares also met with the Director General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, whom he congratulated on her re-election and conveyed Spain’s support for the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage and the inter-university network of the UNITWIN Program (Twinning and Interconnection of Universities) and UNESCO Chairs. The minister then went to Brussels for a meeting with the leaders of the parliamentary groups in the European Parliament, at the European Parliament headquarters.
The presence of Albares in Paris took place one day before the trip that Pedro Sánchez will make today to the French capital to intervene in the commemorative events of the 75th anniversary of UNESCO, in which more than twenty heads of state and government will participate. The event, which will be attended by several guest artists, has been organized in collaboration with CNN and France Médias Monde, and will be broadcast live on UNESCO’s website and social networks.
On the other hand, Pedro Sánchez will take advantage of his trip to Paris today to participate in the official presentation of the candidacy of the current mayor of Paris, the Socialist Anne Hidalgo, to the Presidency of the French Republic. The head of the Executive will participate in a half-hour conversation with Hidalgo herself and with the Prime Minister of Portugal, António Costa.
