By Mashael Basheer
PARIS, June 3 (KUNA) -- Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova thanked on Friday Kuwait's endeavors to help Syrian refugees get school education in the Arab countries hosting them.
She offered her thanks after signing an agreement with the government of Kuwait, represented by the Ministry of Education, whereby UNESCO gets the amount of USD 500,000 to go toward supporting the education of Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
The signing ceremony was attended by the Lebanese ambassador to France Khalil Karam and by Dr. Misha'al Hayat, Kuwait's permanent representative to UNESCO.
Following the ceremony, Bokova told a meeting of UNESCO's executive board that she wished to extend her deepest thanks to His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and to the government of Kuwait for their support of UNESCO's efforts at giving school education to Syrian refugees living in host countries.
This support by Kuwait, she said, bolstered its status as a Humanitarian Center and His Highness the Amir as a Humanitarian Leader, noting that today's signing of the agreement had come at the heels of a USD five million grant from His Highness the Amir to UNESCO in support of providing education to Syrian refugees.
She added that the generous grant would go far in shoring up the financial deficits at UNESCO in its efforts to fund education for Syrian refugees.
Dr. Misha'al Hayat, Kuwait's permanent representative to UNESCO, who signed today's agreement on behalf of the Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr. Bader Al-Eissa, noted that after the signing of the agreement today, Lebanese authorities would do well to use the funds to boost the educational process for the Syrian refugees in Lebanon by providing them with more teachers and more student book bags, among other essentials. (end) mmb.ajs