Morocco withdraws candidate for UNESCO top job

The Moroccan government has withdrawn the candidacy of Ambassador Aziza Bennani for the post of Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, the News Agency of Nigeria reported on Wednesday.

The move was made in order to support one consensus Arab candidacy, the spokesperson of Moroccan Foreign ministry said in Rabat on Tuesday.

The decision was made following the ”intense contacts” that had taken place recently between the Moroccan and Egyptian Foreign ministries which had both submitted candidates for the post.

The new UNESCO director-general is due to be elected in October 2009.

Since the submission of their candidacies, ”the governments of both countries have undertaken, as part of their regular and deep dialogue, ongoing consultations in order to maximise the chances of an Arab candidacy for this important international post,” he added.

Bennani, who holds a Doctor of Letters from universities in Morocco and France , is a former Dean of the Faculty of Human Sciences at the University of King Hassan II in Mohammedia.