UNESCO. General Conference; 30th; Records ... - unesdoc - Unesco

(34.1) Mr SHARHAN (United Arab Emirates) (Translation from the Arabic):
In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Madam President of the General Conference,
Mr Chairperson of the Executive Board, Mr Director-General, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen. Peace
and the Mercy and Blessings of God be upon you all. I should like to begin by offering, on behalf of the delegation
of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), my congratulations to the President of the Conference on her election, and
wish her all success. I should also like to express my esteem for the admirable efforts made by the UNESCO
Secretariat, led by Mr Federico Mayor, the Director-General, in preparing for this important session, and, in
addition, Mr Mayor’s own excellent work, during his term of office, aimed at strengthening UNESCO’s credit
worldwide, especially in connection with the concepts of peace, tolerance and human dialogue. I salute the efforts
of the Executive Board and its effective contribution to the formulation of a clearly defined programme of work for
the coming biennium. I offer my greetings to the incoming Director-General and wish him all success as he leads
the Organization into the third millennium and towards the further spread of a culture of peace among peoples.
(34.2) Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the importance of this session stems from the importance of the
period of time that it represents and the realities of that period. It comes at the end of a century and at the dawn of a
new century, one in which humanity hopes to see the advent of a better life and a brighter future. This session also
represents a reaffirmation and strengthening of the gains achieved by the Organization in recent years through its
Medium-Term Strategy, and the preparation of a new strategy that will bear the Member States’ aspirations for the
future of UNESCO in the third millennium. This session, therefore, is the session of the century.
(34.3) Before proceeding to the comments of the UAE delegation on the Draft Programme and Budget for 2000-
2001, I should like to state how gratified we are at the Secretariat’s presentation of that Draft Programme and
Budget, especially the fact that it is consistent with the conceptual framework of the Medium-Term Strategy, is
responsive to the instructions of Member States and the Executive Board, concentrates on strengthening human
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