The Partnerships and International Cooperation Sector of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) held a meeting, on Friday, June 17, 2022, via videoconference, with the Institute of Silk Road for Strategy Studies (ISRSS) of the Shanghai International Studies University (SISU). In addition to Ms. Amira El Fadil, Head of the Sector, the meeting brought together Dr. Omar Halli, Advisor to ICESCO Director-General of the Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World (FUIW), Mr. Omer Hamid, Expert at the Partnerships and International Cooperation Sector, Dr. Dima Hamdan, Expert at the Culture and Communication Sector, and Dr. Sidra Tariq Jamil, Expert at the Center for Civilizational Dialogue. On the other hand, Dr. Ma Li Rong, ISRSS Vice President, and several ISRSS professors participated in the meeting.

During the meeting, the two parties explored ICESCO’s proposed cooperation paper. They expressed their desire to build a partnership in higher education, Islamic world studies, Chinese studies, scientific publishing research, Arabic and Chinese languages and civilizational and cultural dialogue.

The two parties also agreed to establish a joint chair for the studies of the Islamic world and the Silk Road and to sign a memorandum of understanding to define the general framework and topics to be included in this partnership.

ISRSS is a reference institute accredited by the Chinese Ministry of Education with regard to studies of the countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab region.