Paris, 7 September {No. 2000-80} - Prince Sultan Bin Fahd Bin Abdelaziz, president of the Saudi Youth and Sports Body, made a visit to UNESCO yesterday. Accompanied by his deputy, Prince Nawaf Bin Faisal Bin Fahd, and by a Saudi delegation, Prince Sultan was welcomed by Assistant Director-General for External Relations, Ahmad Sayyad, Assistant Director-General for Culture a.i., Mounir Bouchenaki, and Francine Fournier, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences.

This visit provided an opportunity for an exchange of ideas between UNESCO officials and the Prince on different aspects of cooperation between the Organization and Saudi Arabia, notably in the areas of culture and youth. Ahmad Sayyad, speaking on behalf of UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura, highlighted the importance of the role played by the Saudi kingdom in the life of the Organization. He recalled that the Director-General visited Saudi Arabia at the beginning of the year to inaugurate the activities of " Riyadh Cultural Capital 2000 " of the Arab region. On behalf of the Director-General, Ahmad Sayyad awarded the Picasso medal to Prince Sultan and the Aristotle medal to Prince Nawaf.

Prince Sultan and his delegation were then welcomed by the Chairperson of the Executive Board, Honduran Ambassador and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, Sonia Mendieta de Badaroux. During this meeting, the Chairperson of the Executive Board underlined Saudi Arabia's important place within the Organization. Sonia Mendieta de Badaroux gave to Prince Sultan the UNESCO 50th Anniversary medal, recalling that his country was one of UNESCO's founding members. Prince Sultan emphasized the importance accorded by Saudi Arabia to UNESCO's role in support of international cooperation in the areas of education, science and culture. Prince Sultan gave the Chairperson of the Executive Board the " Riyadh Cultural Capital 2000 " commemorative plaque.