The Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, discussed Tuesday, August 18, with Mr. Abdullah bin Saad Al-Ghariri, Saudi Ambassador to Morocco, cooperation opportunities.

Dr. AlMalik reviewed ICESCO’s major initiatives to counter the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Organization kickstarted “ICESCO Digital Home,” “Societies We Want,” “Comprehensive Humanitarian Coalition,” “Teaching of Arabic to non-Arabic Speakers,” and “Distance Culture” initiatives.

ICESCO also prepared awareness-raising videos on the prevention against the virus in the Organization’s official three languages of ICESCO (Arabic, English and French) along with several local African languages.

The Organization, in cooperation with donors, provided financial and logistical aid to 24 countries to contribute to the continuity of schooling and digitize educational content, explained Dr. AlMalik.

ICESCO also provided food assistance, health equipment, and protective materials to 10 countries. The financial and technical assistance ensured training for the use of sanitizers production units benefitting citizens in these countries.

The DG pointed out that ICESCO’s newly adopted strategy invited non-Member States to join the Organization as observers for active cooperation and partnerships. The end goal is to reach and benefit Muslim communities around the globe.

Ambassador Ghariri lauded ICESCO’s outstanding assistance to Member States during the pandemic, which positively reflected the leadership style in the organization.

The Saudi ambassador commented on the high-caliber participation while attending ICESCO’s videoconferences. The events involved not only participants from Member States but also world experts and specialists. He also commended the constructive debates and outcomes, while supporting ICESCO’s open-door policy in attaining the vision’s objectives.