Islamabad, (TW News) __ UNESCO Director-General Dr. Khaled El-Enany paid his first official visit to Pakistan on February 1–2, a landmark engagement that successfully reinforced the strategic partnership between the Government of Pakistan and UNESCO.

During the visit, Dr. El-Enany held high-level bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Ishaq Dar, and federal ministers overseeing education and professional training, culture and heritage, and science and technology. A key outcome of these consultations was the joint decision to develop a new Pakistan–UNESCO Strategic Roadmap, aimed at identifying forward-looking actions and impactful initiatives aligned with Pakistan’s national priorities.

Central to the visit was the Director-General’s vision of “UNESCO for the People,” placing youth at the core of the organization’s mandate. At Islamabad Model School, Dr. El-Enany received a detailed briefing on the National Education Emergency Action Plan and Pakistan’s efforts to address the challenge of 25 million out-of-school children. He interacted with students in a digital classroom and a robotics lab, underscoring the importance of artificial intelligence and digital literacy in contemporary education.

The youth-focused approach was further highlighted during a visit to the Taxila World Heritage Site, where the Director-General observed ongoing excavations at Bhir Mound and commended the active participation of young female archaeologists in heritage conservation. He emphasized that cultural preservation becomes a shared community value when individuals feel a sense of ownership over their heritage.

Throughout the mission, Dr. El-Enany advocated his philosophy of “expertise beyond borders,” calling for global solidarity and twinning systems between museums and schools to ensure that local policies deliver global impact. This approach will shape the forthcoming high-level launch of the 2026 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report in March, as well as a global dialogue on out-of-school children scheduled to be hosted by Pakistan in April.

Concluding his visit, the Director-General met with the UNESCO Islamabad Office team to discuss field-office empowerment and the need for an intersectoral approach to effectively address community needs. He reaffirmed his commitment to maximizing resources for impactful, ground-level initiatives and envisioned Pakistan as a potential global model for advancing UNESCO’s mandate, while highlighting the importance of the UNESCO80 platform for continued dialogue as the organization moves toward its next milestone.