The Joint Committee of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the Moroccan News Agency (MAP) held a coordination meeting, yesterday, February 18, 2021, to develop a cooperation roadmap in accordance with the Partnership Agreement that Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General (DG), and Mr. Khalil Idrissi Hashimi, MAP DG, signed on February 08, 2021.

During the meeting, held at ICESCO headquarters in Rabat, the Committee considered the proposals of cooperation programmes and decided to start developing the implementation plans for several others, particularly on training and capacity-building of journalists and media professionals from Morocco and ICESCO member States, as well as the programme of the first training session.

The Committee also explored cooperation between ICESCO and MAP in the production of some radio and television programmes relevant to the Organization’s areas of action and its celebration of 2021 as the Year of Women. The programmes aim at promoting cultural awareness in the Islamic world. They will be broadcast next Ramadan on MAP-affiliated RIMRADIO and M24 TV Channel as well as on ICESCO’s social media platforms.

At the close of the meeting, the two parties agreed to hold periodic meetings to decide on the details of the cooperation plans and programmes, follow-up to their implementation and assess their outcomes.

The meeting brought together Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa, Cultural Advisor to ICESCO DG; Ambassador Khalid Fatahalrahman, Supervisor of Partnership and International Cooperation Sector at ICESCO; Dr. Ahmed Said Bah, Advisor to ICESCO DG for Partnerships and International Cooperation; Mr. Mohamed Hadi Shili, Director of Legal Affairs Department at ICESCO; and Mr. Samy El-Kamhawy, Supervisor of Institutional Information and Communication at ICESCO.

The delegation representing MAP was made up of Mr. Rachid Eltajani, Director of Communication and Cooperation; Mr. Mohamed Anis, Secretary-General of the Atlantic Federation of African News Agencies; and Mr. Hicham Elkhal, Director of Media Outlets.