President Park Geun-hye met with Irina Bokova, director-general of UNESCO, on May 20 in Seoul. Bokova was visiting Korea to attend the World Education Forum 2015.

President Park expressed her gratitude at being able to host the global forum. She emphasized that now is the time to set a new goal to improve the quality of education worldwide and to expand educational opportunities for lifelong learning, based on efforts made so far by the international community.


Bokova praised Korea for its support for educational and arts projects, for youth technology training programs and for the construction of UNESCO branches across Africa and Asia.

President Park said that she believes education can be a fundamental solution to social problems, including prevalent extremism, cultural differences and religious conflicts. She revealed her plan to take part in a global fund-raising campaign for the development of education, and also to make a contribution to achieving the U.N. Global Education First Initiative (GEFI) goals.

President Park continued to say that UNESCO World Heritage items and sites can play a role in facilitating conversation and in enhancing reconciliation and friendship between countries, but that Japan's recent move to enlist its wartime industrial facilities in Kyushu and Yamaguchi on the UNESCO list violates the spirit of the body and only creates unnecessary conflict.

Bokova said that UNESCO emphasizes the need for bilateral talks between Korea and Japan, and that she will deliver President Park's message to the head of the World Heritage Committee.

Bokova expressed her gratitude for the Korean government's active support. She mentioned that Korea represents UNESCO's values, duties, objectives and visions.




On the same day, President Park met with Moza bint Nasser Al Misnad, former first lady of Qatar, to exchange views on the development of education and the sciences.

President Park said that bilateral relations between Korea and Qatar have steadily improved since they had a summit in Seoul in November last year and in Doha in March earlier this year. She said that a total of ten memoranda of understanding (MOUs) were signed, half of which covered science and education, adding that it shows how both of Korea and Qatar have a high interest in the development of a future workforce.

The former first lady of Qatar said that Korea understands the importance of education. She stressed that her nation is making efforts to implement what was signed on the MOUs with Korea, and expressed her hope for closer cooperation for their successful implementation.

President Park hoped that the two countries will work together to improve basic education in developing nations, based on the agreement inked this time. Mentioning that education played a key role in Korea's economic development, President Park expressed her hope to cooperate with Qatar to improve the quality of and to expand access to educational opportunities in developing nations.

By Lee Seung-ah
Photos: Cheong Wa Dae
Korea.net Staff Writer
slee27@korea.kr