India to Partner With UNESCO For Collaborative Knowledge Sharing

Smriti Irani, HRD Minister, who is on an official visit to UNESCO Headquarters in Paris said that the government is trying to open windows of opportunity of education to all its citizens. She also said that the India has extended partnership with UNESCO towards collaborative knowledge sharing to assist all countries in their efforts towards achieving Agenda 2030 in a timely manner.

The UNESCO visit is coinciding with the ongoing 38th session of the UNESCO General Conference as well as the 70th-anniversary celebrations of UNESCO. She also held meeting with UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova and discussed the prospects of cooperation between the two. The minister also held a meeting with UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova and discussed the full range of India's cooperation with the organisation.

India also expressed solidarity with the people and government of France at the UNESCO forum days after the recent terror attacks in Paris. Irani also placed a wreath at the Bataclan Theatre in honour of those who lost their lives in Friday's deadly attacks which killed 129 people. She conveyed solidarity with the French people and government in the wake of the attacks in Paris, in her address to the Leaders' Forum at the UNESCO headquarters.

An official statement by the ministry said that Irani also reaffirmed India's commitment to the ideals of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and recalled the words of Mahatma Gandhi , who in 1947 had expressed deep Indian interest in the organisation's efforts to secure peace through educational and cultural activities.