Serbia re-elected to the UNESCO Executive Board for the third consecutive time

Serbia has been re-elected to the UNESCO Executive Board for the third consecutive time.

As announced on the UNESCO website, Serbia received the highest number of votes in its Eastern European group - 137.

Serbia's candidacy was announced a few days ago by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ivica Dacic, in his address to the General Assembly of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Ambassador Tamara Rastovac Siamashvili, Serbia's representative to UNESCO, who chaired the UNESCO Executive Board in the last two years, assessed before the vote that Serbia had a great chance of being re-elected to that body, and that the candidacy officially submitted by Belgrade for membership in the UNESCO Executive Board had received a positive reception from member countries.

"What stands out, particularly on our part in discussions with colleagues and representatives of UNESCO member states is that Serbia is a balancing factor in UNESCO, including the Executive Board. This means that we are a country that absolutely insists on dialogue, seeking compromise, consensus, and multilateralism. This is a characteristic of our foreign policy and is manifested in our approach here at UNESCO. This is something I have insisted on as the Chair of the Executive Board", Siamashvili said for Kosovo Online.

The re-election of Serbia to the UNESCO Executive Board would confirm the constructive role Serbia plays in this international organization, allowing Belgrade to be active in this body on a daily basis, according to former Serbian diplomats ahead of the vote.

Rejoining the Executive Board would contribute to being able to react promptly in any situation, even if Pristina were to reactivate its request for membership, which is currently in a "dormant" state.

New members of the UNESCO Executive Board from the same electoral group are Albania, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.