Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), and his accompanying delegation held a series of meetings with several American institutions operating in the field of space sciences and applications, to discuss cooperation between ICESCO and these institutions in the field of space sciences development in the countries of the Islamic world, and training opportunities in this field for the benefit of the youth of the Organization’s Member States.

ICESCO’s delegation started the series of meetings on Monday, 17 April 2023 in Colorado, USA, in parallel with the participation in the 38th session of the World Space Symposium. This included a visit to the US National Center for Cybersecurity (NCC), where Dr. AlMalik discussed with Lieutenant General Harry Roduege, President and CEO of the Center, the possibility of cooperation between ICESCO and the Center to hold a major international conference on cybersecurity, and the implementation of training programs for youth in the Islamic world at the Center.

It was also agreed to continue coordination to strengthen cooperation between the two parties. At the end of the meeting, the ICESCO Director General and the CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) exchanged commemorative medals from both institutions.

Afterward, ICESCO’s delegation took a tour of the Information Sharing and Analysis Center of the NCSC, whose mission is to facilitate access to and sharing of information between experts in space sciences to find solutions to the crises and challenges facing the world. On this occasion, the delegation listened to the explanations of the officials of the Center on its working mechanisms and the objectives it seeks to achieve.

In another meeting with Mr. Christian Feichtinger, Executive Director of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), the officials discussed the possibility of benefiting from the expertise of astronauts through their participation in ICESCO’s training workshops on the design of an educational satellite (CANSAT), and the holding of conferences within ICESCO’s Member States to encourage young people to take an interest in the field of space and artificial intelligence technologies. They also discussed ICESCO’s participation in the IAF annual conference, to be held in October 2023 in Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan.