Dr. Khaled El-Enany, Former Minister of Tourism and Antiquities of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and the Arab-African Candidate for the UNESCO Director-General Position for the 2025-2029 term, began his two-day visit to the headquarters of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) in Rabat. Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa, Deputy Director-General, received Dr. El-Enany, who will hold a series of meetings with the Organization’s sectors and centers to take stock of its strategy and key initiatives and programs.

At the outset, Dr. Benarafa conveyed the greetings of Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General, who is currently outside the Seat Country, and congratulated Dr. El-Enany on receiving the honorary PhD from Paul Valery University, Montpelier, France, as well as his selection by the UN World Tourism Organization as Ambassador of Cultural Tourism, wishing him the best of luck in becoming the next UNESCO Director-General.

During the meeting, attended by a number of heads of sectors, departments and centers, and Dr. Marwa Mamdouh-Salem, Egyptian Deputy Ambassador to Morocco, Dr. Benarafa reiterated ICESCO’s full support for Dr. Al-Anani, who gained the confidence of the Egyptian government, the Arab-African endorsement, and the support of a large number of countries for his candidacy for the prestigious position.

For his part, Dr. El-Enany expressed his delight at visiting the headquarters of ICESCO, an organization that has made major strides in invigorating its action in recent years. He also inquired about the nature of cooperation between ICESCO and UNESCO.

In answer to these questions, Dr. Benarafa highlighted the main axes of ICESCO’s forward-looking vision and strategic orientations, which adopt openness to all in service of the Member States and Muslim communities across the globe. He added that the Organization’s relationship with UNESCO stems from a firm belief in complementarity and the need for joint action in order to achieve the lofty goals for which international organizations were created.

At the close of the meeting, Dr. Benarafa gifted Dr. El-Enany an ICESCO Shield.

The visit’s agenda features a series of meetings with heads of sectors, departments and specialized centers to take stock of their working mechanisms and key ongoing initiatives, programs and projects, aimed at supporting the Member States’ efforts to develop education, science and culture.