The United States plans to rejoin the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO in July after exiting in 2018 under the administration of then President Donald Trump, the body’s chief told its members on Monday.
The decision by President Joe Biden’s administration to return to the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization comes amid China’s growing global influence and is part of Washington’s efforts to regain leadership in various multilateral frameworks from which it withdrew under Trump’s “America First” agenda.
The plan, including paying dues and voluntarily providing $10 million for UNESCO-sponsored Holocaust education, follows approval from U.S. Congress late last year to allow Washington to make financial contributions to the agency again.
Convening a special meeting in Paris, UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay noted the “strategic importance for the future of our organization” of the United States seeking readmission as she read out to representatives from 193 members the notification received last week from Washington.
Source : Kyodo News
