UNESCO D-G to meet Hillary Clinton in Washington

Paris, France (PANA) - The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, will be in Washington, US, on 14-15 December to address the Women in Public Service Project, the UN agency said in press statement Wednesday from its headquarters in Paris, France.

According to the statement, Bokova will also meet with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and take part in a panel discussion titled "Women Leaders – Forging Global Solutions".

While in Washington, Bokova will discuss the advantages of US continued membership of UNESCO with a range of American parliamentarians, including Gary Ackerman (D-New York), Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Florida), Howard Berman (D-California), Patrick L Leahy (D-Vermont), Russ Carnahan (R-Missouri) and Sam Farr (D-California).

Because of laws passed in the 1990s, the US Government was required to withhold funding for UNESCO when it voted to admit Palestine to the Organization in October.

UNESCO is the first UN organization to recognize Palestine.

Bokova will also participate in a Roundtable at the Council on Foreign Relations, meet with the Editorial Boards of both the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, and answer questions from journalists at the National Press Club.
-0- PANA PR/VAO 14Dec2011