DOHA: Qatar has stepped up its financial support to Unesco’s Regional Office in Doha, giving a major boost to the UN body’s programmes and activities in the region.
The Qatar Fund for Development (QFD) and Unesco’s Regional Office in Doha have signed a ‘grant agreement’ which will increase Qatar’s contribution to support the budget of the Unesco Doha Office to $500,000 (QR1.825m).
This amount will be used to cover operating costs, meet logistics needs and support the annual Office budget for the current year, the Qatar News Agency reported yesterday.
The agreement was signed by QFD’s General Manager Khalifa Jassim Al Kuwari and Dr Anna Paolini, Director of Unesco Regional Office in Doha.
The Unesco Doha Office serves as the Cluster Office for Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates since 1976. In late 2009, Yemen joined the cluster.
These countries have benefited from Unesco Doha’s support in the fields of education, natural sciences, culture, as well as communication and information.
The mission of the Office is to empower women and men in the region — in particular the youth — with the capacity to contribute to their own sustainable human development through the fields of education, science, culture, communication and information in close partnership with member states, the private sector, and civil society.
In a press statement, Al Kuwari underlined strong partnership between QFD representing Qatar and Unesco, saying that QFD attaches great importance to Unesco programmes and activities aimed at supporting education, culture and science.
This stems from Qatar’s vision to achieve comprehensive and sustainable development in developing countries, he added.
Al Kuwari said that Qatar appreciates Unesco’s efforts in the region, stressing QFD’s keenness to participate along with Unesco in promoting the right of people in developing countries to preserve their heritage, culture and rights to knowledge and education.
Paolini expressed appreciation for Qatar’s continued support to Unesco, especially the Unesco Office in Doha, stressing the importance of cooperation with QFD to support the Government’s vision to provide quality education for all as well as to continue cooperation in the fields of science and the protection of cultural heritage around the world.
This long-term cooperation between Qatar and Unesco’s Regional Office has made many achievements in promoting sustainable development and addressing social, environmental and economic challenges at the regional and international levels, Dr Paolini said.
