Shri Kapil Sibal meets DG UNESCO; discusses Mahatama Gandhi Institute STATUE OF SRI AUROBINDO TO BE UNVEILED IN UNESCO HEADQUARTERS ON 16TH SEPTEMBER
	12:51 IST

The Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Shri Kapil Sibal met with D.G., UNESCO, Mr. Koichiro Matsuura and impressed upon him India’s keenness for establishing the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Peace Education and Sustainable Development. During the meeting in Paris yesterday, Shri Sibal said that this proposed Category-I UNESCO institute is proposed to be set up as a symbol of the rich heritage and values of peace and diversity that India stands for. He also pointed out that as this would be the first Category-I Institute of UNESCO to be established in the Asia Pacific region, the Permanent Representatives of India to UNESCO had already started extensive consultations with the member States of the Asia Pacific region. During the meeting it was also decided that UNESCO officials and Ministry of HRD officials would sit down after the meeting to resolve outstanding issues mentioned in the interim report of the UNESCO mission team that has come to India to examine the feasibility of setting up of this institute. The HRD Minister’s interest towards early finalization of these proposals was responded to very positively by the D.G., UNESCO. During the meeting Shri Sibal also thanked the DG, UNECO for his support for the installation of the statue of Shri Aurobindo at the UNESCO Headquarters, which would be unveiled on 16th September, 2009. He also thanked Mr. Matsuura for taking keen interest in the commemoration programme envisaged for the 150th Anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore in 2011. In turn, Mr. Matsuura thanked Shri Kapil Sibal for his contribution to the objectives of UNESCO and complemented him for bringing a new global perspective to the field of Science and Technology during his tenure as Minister of Science and Technology. MV/Hb