During the voting held on 22 October 2019 at the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for the Presidency of the 40^th Session of the UNESCO General Conference, to be held in Paris on 12-27 November 2019, Ambassador Altay Cengizer has been selected against his Spanish competitor.

The result of the voting in the Executive Board is a recommendation and the General Conference, which will initiate its proceedings on 12 November 2019, shall approve this decision.

The UNESCO General Conference held biennially is the organisation's highest decision-making body. The President of the General Conference, together with the post of Director-General and Chairmanship of the Executive Board, is one of the top three UNESCO assignments and ranks at the top of the protocol.

The objective criteria based on the personal knowledge, qualifications and experience of the candidates are effective for the election of the President of the General Conference. The result of the election is a reflection of the activities and fair attitude of Ambassador Cengizer, who represents our country in the Executive Board that has been elected for the 2017-2021 period, as well as his personal qualities that are well appreciated in UNESCO circles.

We believe that Ambassador Cengizer, who will serve for the period of 2019-2021, will make valuable contributions to UNESCO and we wish him every success.