The relations with the United Nations launched under Lehendakari Aguirre and renewed with the return to democracy essentially focussed on participation through the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations Development Fund for Women and very particularly through the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

The relationship with UNESCO was given a new boost in 1997 when Lehendakari José Antonio Ardanza signed the Memorandum of Understanding with UNESCO on cooperation in cultural and educational matters. This Memorandum, subsequently extended in 1999 by Lehendakari Juan José Ibarretxe, and forming one of the main working bases consisted, on express request by UNESCO, of research by the Basque Government into the situation of minority languages throughout the world.

The Basque Government General Secretariat for Foreign Action has, since 2002 and in its task of projecting foreign policy through the UN System and multilateral organisations, signed a yearly collaboration agreement with the UNESCO Etxea - UNESCO Centre - Basque Country, an NGO created in 1991 with the purpose of promoting quality interaction between Basque society (civil society and institutions) on the one hand, and the international community on the other (particularly UNESCO and the other institutions in the UN System), in the fields of science, education, culture, peace, sustainable development, the environment and human rights. It similarly endeavours to disseminate, in the Basque Country, the principles, programmes and lines of action followed by UNESCO, while promoting the exchanging of information, documentation and experiences, especially internationally, with other governmental and non-governmental organisations.

UNESCO Etxea has a status of official relations with UNESCO and of advisory body to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC); it is associated to the UN Public Information Department and belongs to the World Federation of United Nations Associations, Clubs and Centres (FMACU). The UNESCO Etxea Document Centre has similarly been recognised as a member of the UNESCO Network of Associated Libraries (UNAL). All of this corresponds to the Secretariat for Foreign Action desire to have an additional means of participating in multilateral spaces.