Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), met Mr. Aziz Abdukhakimov, Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan, in the presence of Mr. Umid Shadiev, Chairman of the Ministry’s Tourism Committee. The meeting explored cooperation avenues between ICESCO and the Ministry in the field of environmental protection, awareness-raising about issues related to climate change, and experience-sharing.

During the meeting, held on Thursday, 30 May 2024, in Tashkent, the ICESCO Director General reviewed the Organization’s major programs implemented in the field of environment, stressing its endeavor to build a sustainable and green future in the Islamic world by promoting a positive climate action plan and contributing to innovative environmental concepts development through support for the establishment of smart, sustainable and resilient cities, and skill enhancement in the field of environmental technologies.

Dr. AlMalik added that ICESCO is developing programs and implementing workshops for the benefit of women and youth on preserving ecosystems, confronting climate change, consolidating the concept of environmental citizenship, and addressing challenges in the areas of food security and agriculture, noting that the Organization will participate with an outstanding pavilion at the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 29), which Azerbaijan is hosting in Baku, next November, and will exert every effort to ensure the participation of the largest number of Muslim countries at the conference, as well as the representatives of ICESCO’s partners around the world to enrich the conference’s discussions and scientific sessions.

For his part, Minister Abdukhakimov praised ICESCO’s efforts in the field of environmental protection, expressing the Ministry’s keenness to cooperate with the Organization in holding several conferences and workshops to discuss current environmental issues.

During the meeting, the two parties discussed organizing the first edition of the ICESCO Conference of Ministers of Environment and Culture in the Islamic World in the Republic of Uzbekistan to discuss the impacts of climate change on heritage and archaeological sites and identifying mechanisms for leveraging modern technologies for their preservation.