Category: Director General

The Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, and Mr. Salissou Ada, Ambassador of Niger to Morocco, explored yesterday, September 7, cooperation opportunities between ICESCO and Niger.

 The parties utilized their excellent relations to collaborate in the upcoming period in education, science, and culture.

Dr. AlMalik thanked the President of Niger for his unflagging support to the Organization, highlighting the priority status of African countries within ICESCO’s projects. He also listed the Organization’s aid programs in the region during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ICESCO offered electronic devices for digital educational content creation, to ensure the continuity of schooling.  The Organization also granted financial assistance and training sessions to set up and best-cost sanitizers production units.

The DG reviewed the Organization’s major initiatives to curb the outbreak’s aftermath on education, science, and culture. He also mentioned high-caliber participation in the videoconferences and online forums.

Dr. AlMalik reviewed ICESCO’s recent achievements. The focus was on the specialized centers in strategic foresight, artificial intelligence, cultural dialogue and diversity, Arabic for non-native speakers, and heritage. The goal is to establish ICESCO as a reference organization for research and civilizational outreach.

The meeting centered on activities that Niger would have benefitted from prior to COVID-19. The activities included the medical, social, and educational caravans, the first ladies of ICESCO’s African Member States meeting, and the construction of ICESCO Arabic Language Center in Niger.

Ambassador Ada commended ICESCO’s leading role in portraying a positive image about Islam, as well as its consistent cultural and educational efforts.

He lauded Dr. AlMalik’s visit to Niger last May to meet President Mahamadou Issoufou and senior officials at the Presidential Palace in Niamey. May’s visit opened wider prospects for cooperation between ICESCO and Niger.

The Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, met today, September 7, at the Organization’s headquarters, Ms. Saffie Lowe Ceesay, Ambassador of Gambia to Morocco. The two officials explored cooperation opportunities between Gambia and the Organization in education, science, and culture.

Dr. AlMalik reviewed ICESCO’s strategic milestones over the last year along the broad lines of its new strategy. He cited regular communication with Member States to identify their priorities, and country-specific programs in cooperation with respective countries’ competent authorities. He also commented on the priority status of African countries.

The DG underlined ICESCO’s efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Organization offered technological devices to 24 countries to support the production of digital educational content to ensure the continuity of schooling. It also provided protective equipment, hygiene kits, and other assistance in kind to 10 more countries. The Organization granted financial and technical aid to set up best-cost sanitizers production units.

Dr. AlMalik pointed out that, since the beginning of the pandemic, the Organization launched multiple initiatives and programs to fight the pandemic and minimize its impact on education, science, and culture.

The initiatives include “ICESCO Digital Home,” “Societies We Want,” “Comprehensive Humanitarian Coalition,” and “Distance Culture.”

ICESCO also held several online conferences and forums with high-caliber participation from heads of state, ministers, and prominent world figures. These gatherings have significantly contributed to expertise-sharing and promoted dialogue on best practices for pandemic management.

The Gambian Ambassador lauded ICESCO’s outstanding work and valuable help to Member States during the outbreak. She highlighted her country’s commitment to develop cooperation with the Organization.

 Ambassador Ceesay particularly focused on interfaith dialogue cooperation, to which the Gambian Government attaches great importance to strengthen the country’s social fabric.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Mr. Fawad Chaudhry, Minister of Science and Technology of Pakistan, and Mr. Hamid Asghar Khan, Ambassador of Pakistan to Morocco explored on Tuesday, September 3, opportunities for a mutually constructive partnership between the Organization and the country.

The discussions were part of Dr. AlMalik’s meeting with Ambassador Khan to the Pakistani Embassy in Rabat, while Mr. Chaudhry attended via a videoconference.
Dr. AlMalik listed the major aspects of ICESCO’s new vision and strategy, including enhanced communication with Member States for country-specific programs. The strategy will cooperate with authorities in each country in the implementation process.

The open-door policy to non-Member States, international organizations, and donors is also central to the partnerships benefitting citizens of Member States and Muslim communities worldwide. ICESCO also allowed other countries to join ICESCO as Observer States.
ICESCO’s DG reaffirmed that during the COVID-19 pandemic the Organization launched many result-oriented initiatives, programs, and activities to counter the negative repercussions of the pandemic on education, science, and culture in Member States.

ICESCO offered technological equipment to 24 countries to sustain distance schooling and provided in-kind aid and preventive equipment to 10 other countries. The Organization also financially and technically assisted many countries to set up best-cost sanitizers production units.

Mr. Chaudhry was keen to maintain close cooperation between the Organization and the Pakistani Ministry of Science and Technology and Pakistani scientists through joint conferences, forums, and workshops. The Minister also invited ICESCO’s DG to visit Pakistan to meet senior officials.

The discussions tackled ICESCO’s Specialized Centers for strategic foresight, dialogue and cultural diversity, heritage, and Arabic language courses for non-native speakers. The officials also explored the Organization’s ministerial teleconferences and virtual forums during the pandemic, which had a strong Pakistani participation.

Ambassador Khan suggested cooperation in water resources management and other environment-related issues, considering water scarcity in Pakistan. The Ambassador also proposed dialogue and cultural diversity, cooperation, training and capacity-building, and students’ scholarships.

He also commended ICESCO’s organizational progress over the past year, as well as its heritage preservation efforts.

ICESCO’s Ambassador Khalid Fathalrahman, Director of the Department of Dialogue and Cultural Diversity, Dr. Kais Hammami, Director of the Center of Strategic Foresight, and Dr. Muhammad Sherrif, Advisor at the Sector of Science and Technology attended the meeting.

The Director-General (DG) of the Islamic Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, and the Ambassador of Jordan to Morocco, Mr. Hazem Al Khatib Al Tamimi, explored yesterday, August 31, cooperation opportunities between the Organization and Jordan in education, science, and culture.

Dr. AlMalik reviewed the Organization’s major developments following its recent outreach to Member States and inclusion of non-Member States, international organizations and civil society institutions. The updated vision targets the Islamic world’s citizens and Muslim communities around the globe.

ICESCO’s heads of sectors also attended the meeting at the Organization’s headquarters.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, ICESCO launched many initiatives, programs, and activities to address the adverse repercussions of the outbreak on education, science, and culture, ICESCO’s DG reaffirmed.

He highlighted that ICESCO offered technological equipment to 24 countries to ensure the continuity of distance schooling. The Organization also financed production units for best-cost sanitizers in several Member States.

Many countries, institutions, and international donors joined ICESCO’s “Comprehensive Humanitarian Coalition.” Jordan and its institutions are welcome to join the coalition, invited the DG.

ICESCO established several specialized centers, namely the Center of Arabic Language for non-Native Speakers, continued Dr. AlMalik. The Organization’s Center for Strategic Foresight is currently preparing four studies on the future of the Islamic world, the African continent, cultural action and AI challenges in the Islamic world, involving renowned international experts in each study.

He added that the Organization created the Heritage Center, which so far has inscribed 200 archaeological sites in the Member States on the Islamic World Heritage List (IWHL) and provided multiple training sessions for professionals in the field.

The Jordanian Ambassador lauded ICESCO’s “enormous” efforts during the pandemic. He confirmed Jordan’s willingness to expand cooperation with the Organization.

Ambassador Al Tamimi affirmed also that he closely followed the Organization’s major initiatives, programs, activities, and conferences. He commended ICESCO’s medical, social, and educational caravan, in cooperation with the Jordanian authorities in December 2019 in Al Joufa Region.

The Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, stated that the world is undergoing a significant scientific, technological, and research transformation where Information and communications technology (ICT), big data and artificial intelligence (AI) define its course. “Life has been rapidly evolving, and the future holds many challenges for which the COVID-19 pandemic sounds the alarm, which is seen as a sign of change,” he added.

The statement was part of his address during a videoconference, on August 29, to honor Yemeni graduates in Moroccan universities. The Yemeni Embassy in Morocco held the ceremony in cooperation with the Yemeni Ministry of Higher Education.

The event saw the participation of Dr. Driss Ouaouicha, Minister Delegate to the Minister of National Education, Vocational Training, Higher Education, and Scientific Research, in charge of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Morocco; Dr. Hussein Abdulrahman Basalamah, Minister of Higher Education in Yemen; Mr. Azzedine Al-Asbahi, Ambassador of Yemen to Morocco. Ambassador Mohamed Methqal, DG of the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation, university presidents, and Yemeni researchers, who obtained their PhD from Moroccan universities in 2019-2020, attended the ceremony.

ICESCO’s DG called on the graduates to restore Yemen’s glory, outreach, dynamism, and influence in its Arab-Islamic region and the world stage. Dr. AlMalik raised the graduates’ need to keep pace with future changes and become technology makers, not consumers. He also highlighted that this is consistent with ICESCO’s new vision to keep abreast of present changes and foresee future challenges.

ICESCO established the Strategic Foresight Center and the AI Center to focus on forecast studies.

Dr. AlMalik advised the graduates to make the impossible possible and withstand challenges. He equally insisted that they individually define their own course of life, be proud of their nationality and Arab identity and religion, and strive to hone their skills.

“The future will not solely acknowledge degrees as future transformations increasingly require skills, talents, and creative competencies that adapt to change,” he emphasized.

Dr. AlMalik congratulated the graduates and thanked Morocco for its hospitality, then concluded the ceremony with two verses of poetry.

The Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) met Today, August 27, Mr. Armando Albino Arafa, Ambassador Guinea-Bissau to Morocco to explore cooperation opportunities between the Organization and the republic.

At the Embassy of Guinea Bissau in Rabat, Dr. AlMalik underscored ICESCO’s new vision and strategy to give priority to African Member States. He added that the Organization is working to expand cooperation within the region.

Dr. AlMalik noted that during the COVID-19 pandemic, ICESCO cooperated with multiple donor institutions to support Member States. The aid aimed at mitigating the impact of the outbreak on education, science, and culture.

ICESCO launched and implemented several initiatives, programs, and activities since the start of the pandemic. The initiatives provided technological equipment to 24 countries to produce educational contents for the continuity of distance schooling, elaborated the DG.

Dr. AlMalik explained that ICESCO distributed preventive equipment and hygiene products to 10 other countries. It also granted financial and technical assistance for the creation of low-cost sanitizers production units in several countries and training local communities in their production process.

The two parties also discussed ICESCO’s efforts to inscribe Member States’ heritage sites on the Islamic World Heritage List (IWHL). The conversation covered future joint action to inscribe the historic sites of Guinea-Bissau on IWHL, following the approval of the Islamic World Heritage Committee.

Ambassador Arafa thanked the DG for his visit to the Embassy, commending the ICESCO’s work throughout the pandemic and its support to the Member States. The Ambassador reaffirmed his country’s willingness to develop cooperation with ICESCO.

The Ambassador also praised the importance ICESCO provides to interreligious dialogue, given its role in mediating peace between African societies.

ICESCO’s Ambassador Khaled Fathalrahman, Director of Dialogue and Cultural Diversity Department; Ms. Ramata Almamy Mbaye, Director of Social and Human Sciences Sector; and Mr.  Joe Moussa Dantas, Minister Plenipotentiary from the Embassy of Guinea Bissau attended the meeting.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the World Water Council (WWC) held a videoconference on Tuesday, August 25, to explore cooperation opportunities in water security. The discussions focused on an action strategy draft to improve the management of water resources and the preparations for the 9^th World Water Forum (Dakar 2021).

The meeting was chaired by Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO’s Director-General, and Mr. Loic Fauchon, World Water Council’s (WWC) President. The council’s officials and ICESCO’s sector directors and experts also took part in the meeting.

The attendees reviewed the Organization’s practical programs for capacity building in water management, climate change, and technological solutions transfer. The meeting also focused on the importance of multilateral cooperation and proposed setting up a Member States’ representatives’ meetings to identify the specific needs in terms of human capacity-building and infrastructure.

Dr. AlMalik reaffirmed ICESCO’s willingness to assist its Member States in water security, particularly as climate change and environmental impacts threaten already mismanaged clean water resources.

Mr. Fauchon praised ICESCO’s major programs and the partnerships it maintains with donors to aid countries in attaining water security. He also called on the Organization to join the WWC for a result-oriented cooperation between the two parties. ICESCO’s DG promised to study this issue and thanked Mr. Fauchon for his invitation, reaffirming the numerous common goals that can be achieved.

The two parties underscored their exigent desire to develop bilateral cooperation, which began with holding, on July 27, the “Virtual Meeting on Water Security for Peace and Development in the Islamic World.” The meeting was part of the preparations for next year’s 9^th World Water Forum, in Dakar, Senegal. Both ICESCO and the council are collaborating with the Senegalese government to hold the Forum.

ICESCO and the WWC also agreed to set up a joint committee for a future action plan. The goal is to ensure water security and provide safe drinking water to the widest range of beneficiaries in vulnerable countries, particularly in the African region.

The Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) met Monday, August 24, at the Organization’s headquarters in Rabat, with Mr. Zakalia Kote, Ambassador of Burkina Faso to Morocco. The two officials explored cooperation opportunities between the Organization and Burkina Faso in the fields of education, science, and culture.

Dr. AlMalik reiterated his thanks to President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré for his participation, on June 25, in ICESCO’s “Mental Health and Strengthening Resilience during Crises” webinar. He added that the active participation reaffirms the strong relation between the Organization and Burkina Faso.

Dr. AlMalik highlighted the key features of ICESCO’s new vision and strategy, which rely on effective communication with Member States, and enable non-Member States to join the Organization as Observer States. He stated that the COVID-19 pandemic was an opportunity to put into action the orientations of the vision. 

The DG underlined that ICESCO launched several practical initiatives, programs, and activities to support Member States’ efforts in mitigating the impact of the pandemic. He added that the Organization provided technical and financial assistance to contribute to the fields of education, science, and culture.

Burkina Faso has been a partner in ICESCO’s “Comprehensive Humanitarian Coalition Initiative,” with projects and programs targeting the states most vulnerable to the pandemic, stated the DG referring to the priority status of African Member States.  

Ambassador Kote commended the remarkable work ICESCO has carried out during the pandemic, praising the Organization’s support for his country to ensure the continuity of schooling. The Ambassador also praised the aid ICESCO and its partners provided to vulnerable beneficiaries during the pandemic. 

The two parties agreed to promote cooperation between ICESCO and the country. This includes inscribing Burkina Faso’s heritage sites on the Islamic World Heritage List.

The First Counsellor of the Embassy of Burkina Faso, the Cultural Adviser and ICESCO’s sector directors attended the meeting.

The Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, lauded the directives in His Majesty King Mohammed VI’s speech on the occasion of the 67^th Anniversary of the “Revolution of the King and the People.”

King Mohammed VI reaffirmed that the battle against the COVID-19 is ongoing and includes all stakeholders in the campaign to face the pandemic. As the number of confirmed cases, critical cases, and fatalities tripled following the loosening of lockdown restrictions, the speech called on citizens to comply with health and sanitary measures including wearing protective masks, observing social distancing, and using hygiene and disinfection tools.

Dr. AlMalik highlighted the forthrightness with which the monarch addressed Moroccans regarding the critical epidemiological situation in the country. He also hailed King Mohammed VI’s warning that the COVID-19 scientific committee could recommend a return to strict lockdown restrictions should infection cases continue to rise. “This reflects His Majesty’s concern for the health and safety of his citizens,” ICESCO’s DG added.

Dr. AlMalik praised the early mobilization of the Moroccan authorities and the precautionary measures since the beginning of the pandemic last March, namely the lockdown. The measure was a step to contain the virus and yielded results that received worldwide admiration.

King Mohammed VI stressed that this should encourage more precautionary measures to win the battle against the pandemic, especially amid the rise in the infection rates (from one case to 10 cases daily) among health workers.

Dr. AlMalik concluded that since the beginning of the pandemic, ICESCO’s headquarters in Rabat, Morocco, has complied with the Moroccan authorities’ preventive measures to stop the spread of COVID-19. The Organization continues to apply the highest prevention standards to ensure the safety of its staff and visitors.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), and Mr. Koudjo Adanou, Togolese Chargé d’affaires to Morocco, explored on Wednesday, August 19, at Organization’s headquarters, cooperation prospects between ICESCO and Togo.

Dr. AlMalik stated that ICESCO’s strategy relies on effective communication with Member States to customize programs  to beneficiaries’ particular needs. The Organization also focuses on extensive inclusion of local authorities.

Dr. AlMalik reviewed ICESCO’s main initiatives benefiting the most vulnerable countries to ensure the continuity of schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also mentioned the humanitarian assistance to curb the outbreak to Togo and other African countries. The technical and financial aid comprised setting up sanitizer production units and training the local workforce in delivering the best value for money for the products.

In ICESCO’s pursuit to become a model for global civilizational outreach, the Organization set up  several specialized centers, stated Dr. AlMalik. The centers particularly focus on artificial intelligence, teaching Arabic to non-native speakers, Islamic world heritage preservation and inscription, and ongoing strategic foresight. One example of the latter is an experts’ study on the future of Africa.

The Chargé d’affaires also lauded ICESCO’s outstanding work during the COVID-19 pandemic and the strategy realignment. Mr. Adanou expressed his gratitude for ICESCO’s programs in Togo. He also communicated his country’s interest in new joint cooperation opportunities consistent with the domestic development plans in Togo, particularly for capacity-building of the human resources.