UNESCO: YEMEN ENDORSES U.S. CANDIDACY/ ASKS U.S.

UNCLAS SANAA 001550 SIPDIS PARIS FOR U.S. UNESCO OBSERVER MISSION E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AORC YM UNESCO SUBJECT: UNESCO: YEMEN ENDORSES U.S. CANDIDACY/ ASKS U.S. TO SUPPORT ITS CANDIDATE REF: A. STATE 143095 ¶B. SANAA 1249 ¶1. Acting Chief of the MFA's Office of International Organizations, Abdul Wahad Fara'a, informed PolEcon Chief on 6/24 that the ROYG will support the U.S. candidate for UNESCO'S Executive Council, in the event that the election goes to the full membership. ¶2. At the same time, Fara'a asked that the U.S. consider voting for the ROYG candidate if a full membership election procedure is necessary for its group. The candidate, Dr. Hussein Abdullah al-Omari, is a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Education and Agriculture, Ambassador to the U.K., Member of Parliament, and currently a member of the ROYG Consultative Council. He is a noted author of books on Yemeni and Arab history. ¶3. Comment: With UNESCO's designation of the capital city of Sana'a as the 2004 Cultural Capital of the Arab World, the ROYG would obviously appreciate having a representative on the Executive Council during that period. End comment. HULL