Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), held a meeting with Dr. Hervé Ndoume Essingone, Gabonese Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Technological Innovation, President of the Gabonese National Commission for Education, Science and Culture, to explore mechanisms of promoting cooperation between ICESCO and Gabon in the fields of education, science and culture.

At the outset of the meeting, held on Thursday, 11 January 2024, as part of the official visit of Dr. AlMalik to the Gabonese Republic, ICESCO Director-General congratulated Dr. Essingone on his new position as Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Technological Innovation, wishing him every success in his mission.

Moreover, Dr. AlMalik stressed ICESCO’s keenness to develop and promote new prospects for cooperation in the fields of teaching Arabic to non-Arabic speakers, providing scholarships for students in prestigious universities in the Islamic world, and building the capacities of youth and training them on modern technology and artificial intelligence. Dr. AlMalik also expressed ICESCO’s readiness to cooperate with Gabon to empower and support women, combat girls’ school dropout, and inscribe Gabonese cultural heritage sites and elements on ICESCO’s Islamic world heritage lists.

For his part, Mr. Essingone expressed Gabon’s willingness to consolidate cooperation relations with the Organization, create several ICESCO scientific chairs in Gabonese universities, work together to anchor and integrate the values of peace, coexistence and dialogue in educational curricula, and promote the use of technology and AI applications in education.

At the end of the meeting, the two parties agreed to maintain the outstanding partnership between ICESCO and Gabon and coordinate to arrange for ICESCO experts to visit Libreville to agree on several joint programs and projects with the Gabonese authorities in charge of the fields of education, science, and culture.