Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), called for integrating technology into teaching the Arabic language, allocating valuable prizes for translation and interpretation in the field of international organizations, qualifying diplomats linguistically, and investigating the causes not relying on Arabic in international organizations. He also called for establishing scientific chairs in international universities, motivating media professionals, encouraging social media pioneers, and setting up Arabic-speaking clubs, to show the potential of the Arabic language and its sustainable civilizational capabilities.

This statement came in his address on Tuesday, December 6, 2022, before the first two-day Conference of the King Salman Global Academy for the Arabic Language on Arabic Language for International Organizations,” held in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, with high-level participation of heads of international organizations, specialists and interested stakeholders, aimed at benefiting from various experiences to support Arabic and to explore its reality and the key challenges it faces.

ICESCO’s Director-General started his address by commending the organization of this Conference, under the generous patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, may God protect him, as an indication of the importance of the subject and its objectives as a field of knowledge, to which the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, have accorded special attention.

Dr. AlMalik appreciated the efforts of the King Salman Global Academy for the Arabic Language, its initiatives and successes in many activities, highlighting the importance of the partnership that brings together the Academy and ICESCO in the field of promoting the Arabic language and the need to search for and rectify the defects and their source regarding the use of the Arabic language in the international organizations, as well as importance of building the relationship between Arabic and other languages on civilizational logic and not competitive confrontations, and developing a vision for translation that takes into account the creative nature of Arabic language and its richness.

ICESCO’s Director-General reaffirmed the Organization’s keenness and readiness to launch with King Salman Academy practical programmes and adopt promising initiatives to promote the international presence of the Arabic language. He concluded his address with verses from his poem “The Richness of Arabic.”