The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) hosted at its headquarters in Rabat a high-level symposium on “Economic Opportunities and Challenges Facing the Islamic World,” as part of its reception of a delegation from the Board of Directors; members of the Arab Society for Economic Research; representatives of the Arab Planning Institute in Kuwait, the Egyptian Institute of National Planning, and the Policy Center for the New South in Morocco. The symposium witnessed rich discussions between the participating ambassadors and economic experts and the key speaker Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Arab Society for Economic Research and UN Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The symposium, which was held on Thursday evening (28 November 2024), kicked off with a speech by Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa, ICESCO Deputy Director General, in which he stressed that the world is going through a period of major instabilities and transformations, and that the Organization’s Member States have real opportunities to benefit from these challenges and transform them into opportunities and invest in them, pointing out that the Islamic world should pool its efforts to serve its supreme interests.

This was followed by a discussion session moderated by Ambassador Khalid Fathalrahman, Director of ICESCO Centre for Civilizational Dialogue. During this session Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin reviewed the current economic and developmental situations in the countries of the Islamic world showing the available opportunities for achieving sustainable development through building regional cooperation pathways away from global geopolitical conflicts.

He stated that economic progress is based on three main factors: providing funding, technological development for its ability to reduce development costs, and behavioral change, which is the most important factor, for the key role it plays in changing negative behaviors that hinder communities and peoples from achieving real growth. When mentioning some pioneering development models in a number of Islamic countries, he highlighted their specificities and their correlations with some transformative factors that cannot be replicated in other countries.

Afterwards, ICESCO and the Arab Society for Economic Research exchanged commemorative shields.
At the end of the symposium, ICESCO and the Union of Chambers of Commerce signed a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in the fields of sustainable development and green economy, socio-economic inclusion of gender equality and youth entrepreneurship, and the promotion of research and development in key industries. The MoU was signed on behalf of ICESCO by Mr. Anar Karimov, Head of ICESCO’s Partnerships and International Cooperation Sector, and Dr. Khaled Hanafy, Secretary-General of the Federation of Arab Chambers.

The delegation toured the galleries of the International Exhibition and Museum of Prophet’s Seerah and Islamic Civilization, which is currently hosted at ICESCO headquarters, in a tripartite partnership between ICESCO, the Muslim World League, and the Mohammedia League of Scholars.