Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), received Dr. Ahmad Awad bin Mubarak, Minister of Foreign and Expatriates Affairs of the Republic of Yemen, and his accompanying delegation, during their visit to ICESCO headquarters in Rabat, on Monday, November 21, 2022.

At the beginning of the bilateral meeting, ICESCO Director-General reaffirmed the Organization’s keenness to provide all forms of support to Yemen in the fields of education, science, culture and communication. He added that ICESCO coordinates with the Yemeni National Commission for Education, Science and Culture, and cooperates with several donors and regional and international organizations and bodies to implement joint programs and projects in Yemen. The Director-General stated that the goal of such initiatives is to address the country’s needs and priorities, especially with regard to issues such as combatting school dropout among girls, safeguarding heritage, building youth’s capacities and supporting them to keep up with modern technology.

Afterward, the two officials held an expanded meeting, which was attended by Amb. Azzedine Asbahi, Ambassador of the Republic of Yemen to the Kingdom of Morocco, the Minister’s accompanying delegation and several ICESCO’s heads of sectors and departments. Dr. AlMalik stated that ICESCO’s support for Yemen is part of its vision and strategic orientations, which prioritize the youth, women and children to promote their roles in achieving sustainable development in their countries. The Director-General stressed that this interest stems from the Organization’s awareness of the key roles of these groups in ensuring societies’ prosperity and progress. He added that ICESCO also accords special attention to promoting civilizational heritage through training programs for the benefit of heritage professionals, aimed at preserving heritage sites and contributing to cultural and economic development.

ICESCO’s leadership also highlighted the Organization’s major programs and initiatives, launched in cooperation with the Yemeni parties, seizing the opportunity to propose a number of ongoing programs and projects that can be implemented in Yemen
For his part, the Yemeni Minister commended ICESCO’s role to support its Member States, reaffirming Yemen’s keenness to cooperate with the Organization and benefit from its extensive expertise in its areas of competence. Dr. Mubarak also invited ICESCO to dispatch a group of experts to Yemen to take stock of the major needs in order to design suitable programs and projects.

Following the meeting, the Director-General and the Yemeni Minister toured the various pavilions of the Exhibition and Museum of the Prophet’s Biography and Islamic Civilization at ICESCO Headquarters in Rabat. This major civilizational project is the fruit of a strategic partnership between ICESCO, the Muslim World League and the Mohammadia League of Scholars in the Kingdom of Morocco, and is the first of its kind outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Exhibition and Museum seek to highlight the Prophet’s Seerah and the Islamic civilization and cast light on the lofty message of Islam and the noble virtues of the Prophet, peace be upon him. The Exhibition employs advanced technology to give visitors a real-life experience of the Seerah and historical events.