Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), met with Dr. Tariq Salem Al-Abkari, Minister of Education of the Republic of Yemen, on the sidelines of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States, held on Wednesday 14 January 2026, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed potential avenues of joint cooperation between ICESCO and Yemen’s Ministry of Education, and reviewed the support and educational programs that the Organization can provide, in light of the positive indicators and the relative stabilization currently witnessed by the Republic of Yemen, and the opportunities this presents for rebuilding its educational system.

The two sides stressed the importance of strengthening institutional coordination and cooperation and launching new educational initiatives that take into account the current situation in Yemen and respond to urgent needs in the areas of basic education, capacity building, and support for educational stability.

In addition, both parties agreed to hold a joint meeting in the coming days with ICESCO and the Yemen Support Fund, along with a number of international and regional institutions willing to provide support and assistance in the fields of education and training, thereby contributing to the unification of efforts and maximizing impact.

In the context of capacity building, it was agreed to send a number of Yemeni administrative personnel working in the Ministry of Education for training at ICESCO, in addition to involving a group of Yemeni young men and women in specialized training programs for specific periods, aimed at qualifying them to contribute to the leadership and management of educational work and the implementation of educational projects and initiatives in Yemen.

Dr. AlMalik reiterated ICESCO’s readiness to provide all possible forms of support to Yemen and to launch new initiatives that contribute to reducing student dropout rates, retraining teachers, and strengthening the resilience of the education system, thereby supporting the launch of a new educational journey based on partnership, human development, and looking to the future.