Amr Kandil - Ahram

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi congratulated UNESCO, which is marking 75 years since its founding, saying Egypt looks forward to enhancing fruitful cooperation with the organization.

“This comes as an extension of the long partnership between Egypt and the organization over decades, which we hope to further develop and deepen in implementation of the noble objectives of the organization in serving culture, science, and human civilization,” President El-Sisi said in a speech on Friday at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

President El-Sisi affirmed the importance that UNESCO focuses on its goals and objectives “away from politicizing its work”. These objectives include primarily promoting the level of education, developing educational institutions, protecting and promoting the cultural heritage, and working on achieving harmony among cultures and civilizations, President El-Sisi explained.

This should come “within the framework of respecting the sovereignty and choices of the countries,” the president added.

“Egypt is proud of being among the founding states of UNESCO,” President El-Sisi said, noting that relations between the country and the organization have developed over decades to become “a model of constructive cooperation at all levels.”

Egypt’s cooperation project with the UNESCO to save Abu Simbel temples and the Island of Philae, which extended over two decades, “is one of the most remarkable and significant manifestations of this cooperation,” President El-Sisi said.

This project “represents an important experience in the history of the organization’s work and its path in protecting international heritage,” El-Sisi added. “Since then, Egypt has been keen on continuous cooperation with the organization with the aim of protecting the Egyptian heritage-listed sites,” President El-Sisi said.

He added that Egypt is also keen on effective participation in various activities and technical programs of UNESCO at all levels. President Sisi arrived in Paris Thursday to attend an international conference on Libya on Friday.