ISLAMABAD, FEB 10 (DNA) Mrs. Moushira Khattab former Egyptian minister who is a candidate for the post of Director General of UNESCO, has said UNESCO has been a success story only because the member states of put in their best efforts for the strengthening of this organization.

She added, this organization has been doing a great work therefore it needs to be promoted and reinforced for which more cooperation from member states is required. She said, at the moment nobody should think about leaving this organization.

She expressed these words while speaking on the occasion of a reception held in her honour by the Egyptian ambassador Sherif Shaheen at his residence.

Mrs. Moushira Khattab further said that the framework of the world body has vast potential to address current challenges faced by the world.

She said the world today was facing critical challenges namely terrorism, extremism, poverty, environment degradation and climate change issues adding UNESCO’s stress on education, scientific advancement, culture promotion and preservation of world heritage provides answers to all these challenges.

She said, she has a vision to strengthen the UNESCO’s framework with a view to promoting solutions to the impending challenges of the world, adding that if she were elected to the prestigious position of DG, she would do her best to serve the organization in pursuit of its commendable objectives.

Mrs. Moushira Khattab said, a purposeful universal education from primary to higher levels can help promote international understanding, human values and mutual respect for other cultures or faiths.

As DG UNESCO, she will make efforts for promotion of education worldwide especially in less developed regions. Education, she said, is gateway to a global village where all human beings will live in peace and prosperity.

She said, there is also need to promote all cultures of the world and preserve heritage of the human kind. Shared interest in all of them will promote international understanding and mutual respect among various societies.

Mrs. Khattab said, extremism and terrorism do not belong to any single religion or one nation. These menaces have emerged in almost all parts of the world and in all cultures. There should be a strategy to curb these phenomena through collective efforts at the world level.

She said, UNESCO can also play an important role in preserving environment world over and help in overcoming the problems of climate change.

She noted that many countries in the world, especially those in Africa and Asia, are faced with water shortage and dangers of desertification. =DNA

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