Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), began his visit to the Republic of Uzbekistan by meeting Ambassador Dr. Shoazim Minovarov, Director of the Center of Islamic Civilization, at the new headquarters of the Center, in Tashkent, and together explored cooperation avenues between ICESCO and the Center in areas of common interest.

During this meeting, held on Wednesday, 29 May 2024, Dr. AlMalik and Ambassador Minovarov stressed their desire to establish fruitful cooperation between ICESCO and the Center, which has been created at the initiative of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan to be a hub of Islamic heritage and civilization, including knowledge materials, manuscripts and rare masterpieces from around the world, and host conferences and seminars that highlight the contributions of Islamic world to human civilization.

The meeting examined proposals for bilateral cooperation, including the establishment of an office for ICESCO at the Center’s headquarters to monitor cooperation between the two parties, the creation of the Arabic language excellence training center, based on the agreement signed between the ICESCO’s Center of Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers and the Islamic Academy of Uzbekistan, which joined the Center, in addition to the Organization’s participation in the official inauguration of the Center and at its conferences and symposia. The new headquarters of the Center will be inaugurated by the middle of next year, in the heart of the capital, Tashkent, on an area of more than seven hectares, conjunctly with the celebration of Samarkand, Culture Capital in the Islamic World for 2025.

At the close of the meeting, ICESCO and the Center agreed to form a joint working group to draft a partnership agreement to be signed at the earliest convenience, covering concrete programs and projects.

The meeting saw the presence of Mr. Anar Karimov, Head of Partnerships and International Cooperation Sector at ICESCO, and Mr. Musallim Afandiyev, expert in the same Sector.