PARIS — Yahya bin Saud Al Sulaimi, minister of education and chairman of Oman Organisation for Education, Culture and Science, delivered a speech at the 35th round of the Unesco General Conference in the French capital of Paris yesterday. In his speech, the minister conveyed His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said’s wishes of success to the activities of the conference in terms of achievement of the objectives of the Unesco.

The minister praised the results achieved by the Executive Council of the Unesco under the efficient management of the permanent envoy of the Republic of Benin. The minister also praised the existing cooperation between the Sultanate and the Unesco in various spheres.

In his speech, the minister highlighted the significance of the project aimed at making the international office of education as a centre for the Unesco in preparation of the school curriculum. Al Sulaimi reaffirmed that the Sultanate paid utmost care for education in terms of quality and quantity and cooperation with the Unesco to benefit from the latest scientific and technological developments witnessed worldwide.

Al Sulaimi said the Sultanate had carried out a number of activities and programmes, including the meetings of regional experts on development of post-basic education in the Arab region. To this effect, he said the seventh meeting of the Arab education ministers would be held next March in the Sultanate in cooperation between the Sultanate and the Arab Organisation for Education, Culture and Science. The minister hoped that the Unesco would take part in the said meeting.

The Sultanate had paid great attention to the issue of climate affairs and confronting natural calamities, the minister said, pointing out the establishment of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs to this effect. The Sultanate’s selection as the venue for the opening of the international contest of excellence in crafts by the Unesco was due to the historical and cultural significance of the traditional crafts of the Sultanate, he added.

Al Sulaimi also reaffirmed the Sultanate’s keenness on preserving the traditions of communities in light of the rapid contemporary developments. He said the Sultanate was one of the first countries to endorse the international agreement on immaterial heritage.

The current round of the 35th General Conference of the Unesco has seen participation of delegations from 190 countries and it coincided with the appointment of a new director-general for the Unesco after the expiry of the term of the present director-general of the Unesco, Koichiro Matsuura.