US aims to rejoin UN scientific and educational organization to push back on China
The Biden administration says the U.S. will rejoin the U.N.'s educational and scientific organization after a five-year absence that began while Donald Trump was president
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration says the U.S. will rejoin the U.N.’s educational and scientific organization after a five-year absence that began while Donald Trump was president.
The State Department said it had delivered a letter seeking re-admission to the Paris-based body, known as UNESCO, late last week. The June 8 letter from Deputy Secretary of State for Management Richard Verma proposed “a plan for the U.S. to rejoin the organization," the department said.
“Any such action would require concurrence by UNESCO’s current membership, and it is our understanding that UNESCO leadership will convey our proposal to the membership in the coming days,” the department said in a statement.
Details of the proposal were not immediately clear. The U.S. owes a significant amount of money to the organization for arrears in dues payments. But earlier this year, the administration set aside $150 million in its current budget plan to pay for a return to UNESCO.
