HE Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kuwari, adviser at the Emiri Diwan and Qatar’s candidate for the post of director general at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), has met several senior Russian officials during his visit to Russia.
HE al-Kuwari held a meeting with Mikhail L Bogdanov, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Middle East/Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, as part of his election campaign.
During the meeting, Dr al-Kuwari gave a detailed explanation about his vision for the advancement of Unesco, and expressed his thanks to the Russian government for granting him an opportunity to hold meetings with relevant officials in various ministries to present his vision.
The Russian deputy foreign minister praised the excellent relations between Qatar and Russia, wishing the Qatari candidate success.
HE al-Kuwari also met during his three-day visit to Moscow, a number of officials in charge of Unesco’s profile in Russia. He met officials from the Russian Foreign Ministry led by Director of the Department of International Organisations Afanasiev Mikhail Yurievich and Amir Bilyalitdinov, Deputy Secretary-General of the Commission of the Russian Federation for Unesco and head of the department of international relations among others.
Following a detailed presentation by the Qatari candidate on his vision for Unesco, HE al-Kuwari responded to various questions raised by the Russian side.
The Qatari candidate for Unesco also met Russia’s Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Alla Manilova and a number of Russian officials in charge of the Unesco’s file in the ministry. During the meeting, HE al-Kuwari commended the cultural relations between Qatar and Russia, and talked about his election campaign, in particular his vision for the registration of heritage sites and the importance of conservation of world heritage sites.
For her part, Russia’s deputy minister of culture and tourism praised the growing cultural relations between the two countries, pointing to the joint cultural year in 2019, hoping that the event will contribute to the development of overall relations. She also spoke about the importance of co-operation between the two sides in the areas of heritage, libraries and cinema.
In a related context, the Qatari candidate for Unesco met Deputy Minister of Education Veniamin Kaganov and a number of officials at the ministry, where they listened to the vision of the Qatari candidate in the field of education as a fundamental pillar of his vision for the development of Unesco.
HE al-Kuwari said that the current financial crisis has affected the organisation’s education programmes, calling on both sides to focus on the qualitative and moral aspects to ensure that education contributes to achieving coexistence and peace and the fight against extremism.
The deputy minister of education appreciated the vision of the Qatari candidate in the field of education, and announced his desire to co-operate with him in the future. He wished the Qatari candidate success.
These meetings were attended by Qatar’s ambassador to Russia Saud bin Abdullah al-Mahmoud.
HE Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz al Kuwari, adviser at the Emiri Diwan and Qatar’s candidate for the post of director general at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), with Russian officials in Moscow.
