Official visit of the Director-General of UNESCO to Russia

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay will make her first official visit to the Russian Federation from 5 to 7 March.

The objective of this trip will be to confirm the links between UNESCO and Russia, whose involvement in UNESCO is historic, and in all the Organization's fields of competence. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin will receive the Director-General for a bilateral meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow. This will be an opportunity to discuss the consolidation of the existing partnership between Russia and UNESCO in key areas, such as science, artificial intelligence, heritage and culture. Ms. Azoulay will also visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Kremlin and Red Square and meet with members of the Russian National Commission for UNESCO, in the presence of the Russian ministers in charge of UNESCO’s fields of expertise, and also Goodwill ambassadors and “Artists for Peace”.

The Director-General will then travel to Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan. This Republic of the Russian Federation has a particularly dynamic cooperation with UNESCO, including three World Heritage sites, three UNESCO Chairs and a Biosphere Reserve.

She will meet its President, Mr Rustam Minnikhanov and visit theHistoric and Architectural Complex of the Kazan Kremlin, another UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Ms. Azoulay will also participate in the opening ceremony of the Congress of Russian UNESCO Chairs. With 60 Chairs, Russia has the second largest network of UNESCO Chairs in the world.