Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), met with Mr. Emin Amrullayev, Minister of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and together they discussed the prospects for the Republic of Azerbaijan to provide support for the educational systems in the countries of the Islamic world most in need, particularly by providing scholarships to young people in various fields and contributing to the development of green education in these countries.

The meeting was held at the Ministry’s headquarters, as part of the Director-General’s visit to Baku as head of ICESCO’s delegation to COP29, where the Organization is actively taking part in the proceedings with this key event, through the activities of its pavilion in the Blue Zone. During the meeting, Dr. AlMalik commended the special cooperation relations between ICESCO and Azerbaijan, in reflection of H.E. President Ilham Aliyev’s keenness to support the Organization’s initiatives and programs for the benefit of the Islamic world.

The Director-General also commended the success of ICESCO’s Second Ministerial Conference on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), held in cooperation between ICESCO and the Azerbaijani Ministry of Science and Education, in May 2024, expressing his keenness to develop cooperation relations with the Ministry to implement more initiatives and programs for the benefit of the Islamic world, especially African countries.

For his part, Mr. Amrullayev commended ICESCO’s roles in developing education and scientific research in the Islamic world, stating that the Ministry is looking forward to developing cooperation relations with ICESCO.
The two parties discussed cooperation on a number of projects including providing technical support to ICESCO Member States to join the PISA Programme, providing a number of scholarships for young people, funding exchange programs for faculty members in the Member States’ universities, and organizing a regional workshop on greening education.

They also agreed that ICESCO will submit a number of initiatives and programs to support the countries of the Islamic world most in need, in the areas discussed, to later on agree on implementation measures.
The meeting was attended from ICESCO by Ms. Hedy Jatou Sey, Head of the Education Sector, and Mr. Anar Karimov, Head of the Sector of Partnerships and International Cooperation, and Mr. Musallim Afandiyev, Expert at the Sector.