Qatar has been elected vice-chairman of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (Alecso)’s Executive Council, for the upcoming 2024-2026 period, during the 27th session of Alecso General Conference held in Jeddah.
HE the Minister of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE) and Chairperson of Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science (QNCECS), Buthaina bint Ali al-Jabr al-Nuaimi, led Qatar's delegation to the session, along with representatives from the MoEHE, the Ministry of Culture, Qatar University and QNCECS.
The three-day session discussed a range of topics on Alecso's performance and future, with the session's agenda focusing on reviewing suggestions and following up on myriad critical decisions, including the establishment of the Arab observatory centre, and the report of the first session of the Alecso Business and Partnership Forum for 2024 and the forum's draft strategy.
The session discussed supporting the participation in the Arab week of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) as a critical imitative that highlights the diverse Arab culture and civilisation and promotes inter-civilisational dialogue and helps achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Arab countries.
Additionally, the session endorsed the support of a response plan to the educational, cultural and scientific situations in member countries grappling with conflict, crises, disasters and emergency cases, to further monitor their needs and assess the damage inflicted upon those countries, in addition to allocating a portion of the organisation's budgets for these cases and the essential mobilisation of partners and donors to carry out the necessary activities in the affected countries.
In conclusion, the results of the elections of Executive Council of Alecso were announced, with Qatar being elected as vice-chairman of the Executive Council by a majority of votes.
Acting Secretary-General of the Qatar National Committee for Education, Culture, and Science, Ali Abdulrazzaq al-Marafi, who is Qatar’s representative in the Executive Council of Alecso, will assume this position.
Saudi Arabia was re-elected as chairman of the Executive Council.
Qatar’s election, al-Marafi said, underscores its efforts and role in support of joint action at regional and global levels, in pursuit of building better future for the region and generations to come.
He added that by assuming this position, he looks forward to increasing the contribution to achieving Alecso's strategic objectives and fostering partnerships among the member states to conduct its projects and programmes, in addition to drawing initiatives that serve its areas of operation.
Alecso aims to promote intellectual unity among Arab countries through education and science, in addition to upgrading the level of human resources in the Arab region through optimising education and advancing pedagogical systems and spreading language, as well as Arab and Islamic culture. – QNA
