Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), received Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and together they discussed ways to promote cooperation in areas of common interested and reviewed ICESCO participation in the UNCCD Conference of the Parties (COP 16), to be hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, in December 2024.

During the meeting, held on Monday, October 11, 2024, at ICESCO headquarters, Dr. AlMalik stressed that the Organization accords great attention to protecting the environment, as part of its new vision and strategic orientations. He further explained that ICESCO exerts great efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change and contribute to ensuring good governance of natural resources and achieving food security through the implementation of a number of initiatives and programs in cooperation with its Member States.

Moreover, the DG noted that ICESCO will participate with a pavilion in the Blue Zone at the UNFCCC COP 29, to be held in the Republic of Azerbaijan in November, extending the invitation to Mr. Thiaw to speak at one of the events to be organized by ICESCO at COP29.

For his part, the UNCCD Executive Secretary commended ICESCO’s roles and support for its Member States’ efforts to address climate change issues and the global water crises, and accepted the invitation to take part in the one of the activities of ICESCO’s Pavilion at COP 29.