The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan have explored ways to expand bilateral cooperation in food security, climate action, education, and youth capacity building, with the aim of strengthening their partnership in the coming phase.

This took place during a visit by Mr. Rana Tanveer Hussain, Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research, and Dr. Shezra Ali Khan, Minister of State for Climate Change of Pakistan, to ICESCO headquarters in Rabat on Tuesday, 7 July 2026. They were received by Dr. Ahmed Albanyan, Head of the Education Sector and Director of the Translation and Publishing Center, on behalf of Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General of the Organization.

During the discussions, Dr. Albanyan delivered a presentation on ICESCO’s flagship initiatives and projects in education, technology, innovation, artificial intelligence, and youth training, particularly programs implemented in Pakistan. The discussions also addressed the growing importance of national food security and the need to strengthen cooperation among ICESCO Member States in knowledge exchange, research, innovation, and technology transfer.

For his part, Mr. Rana Tanveer Hussain commended ICESCO’s role in serving the Islamic world and proposed that Pakistan host the Organization’s first conference on food security in Islamabad in 2027.

Dr. Shezra Ali Khan also expressed her country’s interest in organizing joint activities with ICESCO during the upcoming Conference of the Parties (COP31) in Türkiye and proposed hosting the ICESCO Conference of Environment Ministers in Pakistan.

The meeting was attended by Dr. Kuanysh Yergaliyev, Head of the Science and Environment Sector; Dr. Sohail Qureshi, Advisor to the Director-General for the Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World (FUIW); and Dr. Waqas Afridi, Expert at the Education Sector.