The Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) Dr. Salim AlMalik held a series of meetings with a number of ministers and heads of delegation of several Member States of the Organization on the sidelines of their participation in the 42nd session of the UNESCO General Conference in Paris. During these meetings, Dr. AlMalik explored with his counterparts ways to promote cooperation between ICESCO and their respective countries in the fields of education, science and culture, and reviewed the outcomes of the programs and projects ICESCO implemented in cooperation with the competent authorities in each country.

Dr. Al-Malik’s meetings included a meeting with Dr. Madeeha bint Ahmed al Shibaniyah, Minister of Education and chairperson of the Omani National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, who praised the fruitful cooperation between Oman and ICESCO, and confirmed her country’s readiness to host the next session of the Conference of Education Ministers in the Islamic World. The meeting touched on ways to support the Palestinian people to confront the aggression they are facing.

During the meeting between ICESCO Director-General and Mr. Madad Ali Sindhi, Federal Minister of Education of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the two sides discussed strengthening cooperation and expanding the Organization’s program to improve water, sanitation and hygiene services in Pakistani schools, and jointly organizing science Olympiads for the benefit of youth in the Islamic world. At the end of this meeting, Mr. Sindhi invited Dr. AlMalik to attend the Prophet’s Biography Conference in Pakistan.

For her part, Ms. Mariatou Koné, Minister of National Education and Literacy of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, expressed, during her meeting with Dr. AlMalik, her thanks and appreciation for the Organization’s efforts and the programs it implements, especially in the field of education, and for the workshops held at the Regional Center for Peace Education in Yamoussoukro. At the end of the meeting, both sides agreed to form a joint committee to work on integrating more than 4000 Quranic schools into the Ivorian educational system.

After that, Dr. AlMalik met with Dr. Ahmed Fakak Al-Badrani, Minister of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities of the Republic of Iraq, and both reaffirmed their keenness to develop joint cooperation, especially in building youth capacities, and intensifying the participation of Iraqi youth in the activities, competitions and programs implemented by the Organization. Mr. Al-Badrani praised ICESCO’s efforts in the fields of education, science and culture.

During the meeting between Dr. Al-Malik and Dr. Mohamed Ali Boughdiri, Minister of Education of the Republic of Tunisia, the two sides stressed their keenness to enhance joint cooperation between ICESCO and the Tunisian ministry. In his turn, the Tunisian Minister praised ICESCO’s vision and strategic orientations, which attach education utmost importance, commending the training sessions held by the Organization for the benefit of Tunisian youth.

The meeting, which brought together ICESCO DG and Mr. Elnur Mammadov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, discussed ways to develop the outstanding partnership between ICESCO and Azerbaijan, through implementing a number of programs in partnership with Azerbaijani institutions to provide support for countries of the Islamic world. The two sides also reviewed preparations for launching the celebration of Shusha Culture Capital in the Islamic World for the year 2024.

In the last meeting, Dr. Al-Malik and Mr. Bakhromjon Aloev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan, reviewed the latest developments in cooperation between ICESCO and Uzbekistan in the fields of education, science and culture, and the programs and initiatives that will be launched as part of celebrating Samarkand as Culture Capital in the Islamic World for the year 2025 were discussed.