A delegation headed by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Mrs. Khatuna Totladze took part in the 39th session of the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which was held from October 30 to November 14, 2017, in Paris.

In her address to the Conference participants pronounced at the General Policy Debate on November 4, the Deputy Foreign Minister highlighted the 25 years of fruitful cooperation between Georgia and UNESCO. The Deputy Minister also referred to Georgia's efforts to implement the Sustainable Development Goals. She emphasized the importance of the ongoing reforms in the education system, which are among the priority objectives of the Georgian Government. In her speech, the Deputy Minister also drew the attention of the participants to the existing problems in the occupied territories of Georgia and reiterated the need for greater involvement of UNESCO in solving problems concerning cultural heritage located on these territories.

The 39th session of the General Conference adopted the List of anniversaries to be celebrated in 2018-2019 with the participation and support of UNESCO. The anniversaries proposed by Georgia - "Celebration of 100th anniversary of the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University " and " Celebration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Marjory Scott Wardrop", were included in the List.

In addition, bilateral meetings were held at UNESCO Headquarters between the Deputy Ministers of Education and Science of Georgia and the Ministers of Education of Norway, Estonia, Cyprus, Sweden and Finland. During these meetings, the parties discussed ongoing projects and plans for future cooperation in the field of education.

It should be noted that on November 10, the 39th session of the General Conference of UNESCO approved the candidate proposed by the Executive Council, the former Minister of Culture of France, Audrey Azoulay. The latter will replace Irina Bokova, who has held the position for 8 years.

Furthermore, the General Conference adopted the new Program and Budget of the Organization.