Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), and his accompanying delegation held a meeting with Dr. Abdallah Al Dardari, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Director of the Regional Bureau for Arab States at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The discussions focused on areas of cooperation between the two sides to contribute to rebuilding the educational system in the Syrian Arab Republic.

The talks, which took place on Tuesday, 19 August 2025, at the UNDP Regional Bureau for Arab States headquarters in Damascus, addressed ways to support the Syrian Ministry of Education. This includes contributing to the reconstruction and equipping of several destroyed schools, providing proposals for curriculum reform and development, implementing an integrated program to reduce student dropout rates and reintroduce current dropouts, as well as the training and capacity-building of teachers.

The discussions also covered the possibility of dispatching a technical team to assess the damage inflicted on heritage sites, their restoration, and the capacity-building of professionals working in heritage conservation. In addition, the two parties examined means of supporting universities in establishing incubators for creativity and innovation, and encouraging them to prepare students for the demands of future professions.

Both sides agreed to sign an executive program to begin implementing these initiatives on the ground, following the approval of the competent authorities in the Syrian Arab Republic. After the meeting, Dr. Al Dardari accompanied Dr. AlMalik on a tour of the “Digit” innovation incubator at Damascus University, which was established with funding from UNDP.

It is worth noting that this important meeting followed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between ICESCO and UNDP last April at ICESCO’s headquarters in Rabat.