Meeting of the Second Electoral Group chaired by Azerbaijan was held at UNESCO

A meeting of the Second Electoral Group (Eastern European States) chaired by Azerbaijan was held at UNESCO.

The meeting was chaired by Ambassador Elman Abdullayev, Permanent Delegate of the Republic of Azerbaijan to UNESCO.

Firmin Edouard Matoko, Assistant Director General of UNESCO for Priority Africa and External Relations, Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director General of UNESCO for Social and Human Sciences and Member States of the Electoral Group II attended the meeting.

Following the adoption of the Agenda of the meeting, Assistant Director General of UNESCO for Priority Africa and External Relations Firmin Edouard Matoko briefed on the new Operational Strategy for Africa Priority (2022-2029) adopted during the 41^st session of the UNESCO General Conference. He noted that this was his first meeting with the Electoral Group on this issue and thanked the Permanent Delegation of Azerbaijan for the invitation.

Noting that the new Operational Strategy is based on 5 priorities, he clarified that among them higher education is the most essential. In this regard, he noted that the situation in Africa is not so good and said that the financial contribution and expertise are very necessary.

He underlined that many Africans studied in Eastern European countries such as Azerbaijan, Russia, Ukraine and Romania, and informed about the upcoming Donor Conference.

Then, Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director General of UNESCO for Social and Human Sciences, spoke about the first global tool in the UN system in this area – the UNESCO Recommendations on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, adopted during the General Conference.

Noting that the Recommendations, which have been going through lengthy procedures and discussions over the past two years, were adopted at the right time, Ms. Ramos said that these Recommendations would make Artificial Intelligence more transparent and ethical.

Expressing gratitude to the members of the Second Electoral Group for their contribution, the ADG informed that an informal group of friends will be established in this direction from February 2022.

Afterwards, ADGs answered the questions of the participating countries.

Another issue on the Agenda was the candidacy of the members of the Group to UNESCO organs. In connection with the point previously mentioned, the Chair of the meeting congratulated all the elected Member States on their success.

It should be noted that this meeting was the last meeting of the Second Electoral Group chaired by Azerbaijan. Using this opportunity, a number of countries took the floor and congratulated the Permanent Delegation of the Republic of Azerbaijan on its active and successful chairmanship.

Over the next six months, the Group will be chaired by the Permanent Delegation of Bulgaria.