Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), and Dr. Albert Ouedraogo, Prime Minister of the Republic of Burkina Faso, held a meeting to review the latest developments in cooperation between ICESCO and Burkina Faso and discuss the implementation of several partnership programmes and activities in the future.

The meeting, which was attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Education of Burkina Faso, came on the sidelines of the participation of Dr. AlMalik and Dr. Ouedraogo in the United Nations Summit for Transforming Education in New York, where ICESCO and Burkina Faso reviewed the key results of their joint programmes, projects and activities and reaffirmed the continuation of their constructive partnership.

The two parties agreed to cooperate in holding a symposium on space sciences and a training session for youth in Burkina Faso on how to design and manufacture an educational satellite “CanSat,” to implement several projects in the preservation of the environment, inscription of several historical sites and cultural elements in Burkina Faso on ICESCO’s Islamic World Heritage List and organize training sessions for heritage officials in Burkina Faso on preparing inscription files and protecting and maintaining archaeological sites.

The meeting also touched upon the problem of dropping out of school, Burkina Faso’s success in addressing and reducing the effects of this phenomenon and the possibility of transferring this experience to other ICESCO Member States.

For his part, the Prime Minister of Burkina Faso commended ICESCO’s new vision and strategic orientations and expressed his gratitude for the Organization’s interest in cooperating with his country and supporting its efforts in developing education, science and culture, stressing that his government will pay the arrears of Burkina Faso’s contributions to ICESCO’s budget.

The meeting brought together from ICESCO: Dr. Barry Koumbouo, Head of the Education Sector, Ms. Amira El-Fadil, Head of Partnerships and International Cooperation Sector, Dr. Muhammad Sharif, Advisor in the Science and Technology Sector, and Dr. Sungbong Kim, Expert at the Education Sector.