The Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Mrs. Audrey Azoulay, begins a 72-hour visit to Iraq on Monday, during which she will visit various reconstruction sites. and will exchange with Iraqi officials on support for culture and education.
During this first trip to Iraqi soil, the patron saint of Unesco will be received this Monday in Baghdad, by the Iraqi president, Abdel Latif Rachid and by the head of government, Mohamed Chia al-Soudani.
“It is a visit dedicated to the reconstruction of Iraq and to the investment of Unesco for the reconstruction of Iraq”, confided to the press a spokesperson for this specialized organization of the UN.
Apart from a visit to the National Museum, Ms. Azoulay will visit the historic city center of the Iraqi capital on Monday and, among other places, on al-Mutanabi street, world famous for its booksellers.
“There are discussions underway on the part of the Iraqi authorities to maintain this heritage. The idea is to see how Unesco might help to highlight it and allow this cultural life to continue to develop in Iraq,” said the Unesco spokesman.
As a reminder, Iraq has six sites listed as world cultural heritage. This country was the victim of the looting and trafficking of its antiquities during its first and second invasion by the armed forces of the United States and their allies.