UNESCO chief Koichiro Matsuura is convening an unprecedented meeting of government leaders from 30 major industrialized and developing countries in autumn to discuss the promotion of primary education in the fight against poverty, according to Japanese government sources.
The goal of the meeting is to improve cooperation between aid donors and recipients in the provision of primary education, which is seen as a key to decreasing world poverty.
Matsuura, a former ambassador to France, took the helm of the Paris-based United Nations body in 1999. The meeting will be held for two days, starting Oct. 29, during UNESCO's annual general assembly session in Paris, the sources said. UNESCO is the abbreviation for the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.