The Secretary-General of the Organisation of Educational Cooperation (OEC), H.E. Sheikh Manssour Bin Mussallam, met today with the Deputy Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, H.E. Mr. Demeke Mekonnen Hassen, as part of his three-day visit to the country.
During the hour-long meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs reiterated that Ethiopia remains committed towards the implementation of the Universal Declaration of Balanced and Inclusive Education, stressing that education remains the priority of the Government as a lever for development.
By the same token, he ratified Ethiopia’s conviction that OEC’s establishment had brought about a timely and unique opportunity to reinforce South-South cooperation and to benefit from technical support towards enhancing systemic governance and policy implementation towards the realisation of Balanced and Inclusive Education for all.
The Secretary-General, for his part, shared the Organisation’s firm conviction in the importance of South-South cooperation to address common challenges and achieve shared aspirations. He elaborated by stressing that effective South-South cooperation requires, in parallel, the reinforcement of regional exchanges and integration.
In reaffirming the OEC’s resolve to serve the collective interests of its Member States and their peoples, the Secretary-General evoked the Organisation’s Strategic Plan for 2022-2029 and Programme for 2022 – 2023, most notably by the lines of action pertaining to national capacity-building, endogenous technology development, debt and fresh financing sustainabilisation.
Both the Deputy Prime Minister and the Secretary-General agreed on the relevance of the OEC’s International Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD), for the sustainable economic development of Member States and the financial sustainability of the Organisation in equal measure, and discussed the timeline set by the General Assembly in this regard.
By way of conclusion, they agreed to reinforce cooperation in the areas evoked through the Ministry of Education and other relevant stakeholders, with a view to organise the necessary technical meetings to effectively move towards the implementation of the educational transformation required for a third, inclusive and equitable way of development.
