PARIS — Saudi Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah will deliver the Kingdom's speech at the 42nd session of the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which began in Paris on Tuesday. Prince Badr, who is also chairman of the Saudi National Committee for Education, Culture and Science, is heading the Saudi delegation, which is comprised of delegates from the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Education, the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), and other competent Saudi agencies, participating in the conference. The UNESCO conference, which is being held at its headquarters in the French capital, will run through until Nov. 22. In his speech, Prince Badr will review various achievements made by the Kingdom, in collaboration with UNESCO over the past two years in the fields of education, science and culture. He will also emphasize the Kingdom's role in supporting the organization's efforts to achieve sustainable development goals. Minister of Education and Vice Chairman of the National Committee for Education, Culture and Science Prof. Yousef Al-Benyan will address the ministerial session concerned with the draft UNESCO resolution for the 1974 Recommendation on Education for Understanding, Cooperation, and International Peace, and Education in the Field of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. On the sidelines of the General Conference, the Saudi delegation will participate in a number of sessions and committees concerned with culture, education, science, communications, information, programs and external relations, in addition to the session related to UNESCO's budget for the years 2024 — 2025, and UNESCO's Human Resources Strategy for 2023 — 2027. Within the framework of the current session of the conference, various Saudi national agencies will participate in a number of accompanying events, in the context of reviewing the national achievements of Saudi Arabia in light of the Kingdom's Vision 2030. As part of this, the Royal Commission for AlUla will participate in a pavilion that reviews its existing partnership with UNESCO in heritage preservation, education, capacity building, environment and creative arts. The ministry of culture will participate in the Supporters' Forum, which is organized by UNESCO to review six projects launched by the ministry in cooperation with UNESCO through the Saudi Fund for Culture. It is noteworthy that Saudi Arabia, one of the founding countries of UNESCO, is jointly working with the international body and recorded continuous progress and a strategic partnership represented by the Kingdom's membership in a number of councils, committees and groups affiliated with the organization. The 45th session of the World Heritage Committee under UNESCO unanimously voted to inscribe the Uruq Bani Ma'arid Reserve in the World Heritage List as the seventh Saudi world heritage site to be registered. Also, the Kingdom chaired the open-ended working group of member states of the World Heritage Convention.
