Category: Directorate of External Relations and Cooperation

Dr. Salim M. Al-Malik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) met today, July 29, at the Organization’s headquarters in Rabat Mr. Ziad Atallah, the Lebanese Ambassador to Morocco.

The two officials discussed possible ways for promising cooperation between ICESCO and Lebanon in the fields of education, science, and culture.

During this meeting, Dr. AlMalik expressed ICESCO’s readiness to support educational, scientific, and cultural institutions in Lebanon. The support consists of executive programs and specific projects, depending on Lebanon’s priorities.

He added that ICESCO’s vision and strategic action plan approaches the states and civil society institutions in charge of financing several of these projects and programs.

The Lebanese Ambassador, in turn, commended ICESCO’s efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the initiatives it launched to counter its impacts and support the countries most affected.

Ambassador Atallah also expressed the embassy’s willingness to cooperate with the Organization in implementing educational, scientific, and cultural activities.

Dr. Ahmed Said Bah, Director of Partnerships and International Cooperation Sector, Ambassador Khalid Fathalrahman, Director of the Department of Dialogue and Cultural Diversity, and Ms. Zineb Iraqi, Supervisor of the General Secretariat of National Commissions and Conferences, attended the meeting.

Dr. Salim M. Al-Malik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), and Dr. Masoumeh Ebtekar, Vice-President of the Islamic Republic of Iran on Women and Family Affairs, held a videoconference today, July 29 to discuss future cooperation programmes between the Organization and the country.

During this meeting, the Iranian Vice-President commended the ICESCO’s initiatives to bolster Member States’ efforts in addressing the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. She also stressed the need for the Islamic Ummah to stand firm, actively cooperate, and support each other, especially in times of crisis.

Dr. Ebtekar reviewed Iran’s efforts and cooperation with countries of the Islamic world to address the pandemic, reaffirming that support for families to overcome these difficult times is a priority.

The Vice-President noted that an international center for family dialogue had been established to communicate more with individuals to address the problems they may face. She also expressed her willingness to share this know-how with ICESCO Member States through cooperation to hold a forum within the framework of the “The Societies We Want” initiative.

Dr. AlMalik supported the proposal and invited the Iranian Vice-President as the keynote speaker. The programme for the event will be defined at a later date. It will include a presentation of the know-how acquired by the Iranian Centre for Family Dialogue during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ICESCO’s DG stressed that the Organization had undergone a major modernization over the past year and strengthened its team by recruiting young and distinguished skills. ICESCO thus became a center of expertise and a beacon of international influence in the fields of education, science, and culture.

He indicated that this pandemic, which some regarded as a trial, was ICESCO’s opportunity to work intensively on implementing several practical initiatives and executive programmes.

The initiatives include ICESCO Prize for the Fight against Coronavirus, which will award US$ 200,000 to those who discover an effective cure or preventive vaccine against the virus.  “ICESCO Digital Home” initiative offers knowledge and educational content.

Many states, international organizations, and donor institutions have also joined the “Comprehensive Humanitarian Coalition” initiative, to which Iran and its institutions may also participate.

Dr. Gholam-Reza Karimi, Secretary-General of the Iranian National Commission, officials of the Iranian National Commission, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and ICESCO’s Directors of Sectors attended the meeting.

At the end of the meeting, both sides agreed that the coming period would see extensive cooperation between Iran and ICESCO in Organization’s fields of activity. The initial step is organizing the International Forum to be held within the framework of the “Societies We Want” initiative, on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women and children.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), explored with Mr. SHINOZUKA Takashi, Ambassador of Japan to Morocco, the prospects of successful cooperation and partnership between ICESCO and Japan in the fields of education, science, and culture.

During the meeting, Dr. AlMalik reaffirmed that ICESCO’s vision and strategy to adopt open-door policy and seek to build partnerships that would serve its Member States and Muslim communities around the globe.

He added that ICESCO set a new Charter of the Observer States to allow such countries to effectively participate in the various activities and contribute to building partnerships with the Organization. Dr. AlMalik also called on Japan to join the Organization as an Observer State.

The DG also reviewed the ICESCO’s major initiatives, programmes, and activities that support the efforts of the Member States and the international community to counter the negative repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The initiatives include the “Comprehensive Humanitarian Coalition,” which targets countries affected by the pandemic and most vulnerable groups.

Dr. AlMalik noted that Japan and the Japanese private institutions are welcome to join this coalition.

The Japanese Ambassador to Rabat commended ICESCO’s initiatives and sustained efforts to support the Member States in the fields of education, science, and culture. He highlighted that Japan launched many initiatives to counter the adverse effects of the pandemic and assist many countries most affected by it.

The two parties agreed to Japan’s support of ICESCO’s educational, scientific, and cultural projects, particularly in Africa, through Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

ICESCO’s Dr. Ahmed Said Bah, Director of the Sector of Partnerships and International Cooperation; Ambassador Khaled Fathalrahman, Director of Dialogue and Cultural Diversity; and Ms. Rime Jirari, Head of Organizations and Bodies Department also attended the meeting.
The meeting took place at ICESCO headquarters.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and Alwaleed Philanthropies signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the phases and programme related to implementing the joint initiative to help 10 countries address the adverse repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative entails humanitarian aid to the needy categories, capacity-building in the production of sanitizers and protective equipment to prevent the transmission of the COVID-19 pandemic, and support to the private sector and women and youth entrepreneurs.

Following the signature of the MoU during the virtual ceremony held on Tuesday, H.R.H. Princess Lamia Bint Majed Saud AlSaud, Secretary General of Alwaleed Philanthropies, said “we are proud of our partnership with ICESCO marked by many years of humanitarian initiatives to meet the urgent and long-term needs of the neediest categories around the globe. This initiative will empower women and young entrepreneurs by making them assume the principal role in the fight against Coronavirus”.

For his part, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director General, expressed the honor of ICESCO to collaborate with Alwaleed Philanthropies in support the most vulnerable and marginalized people in Africa and across the Islamic world.

“His R.H Prince Alwaleed Ibn Talal, has always been a champion for this noble cause, we look forward to strengthening our collaboration with Alwaleed Philanthropies as an icon for others to follow” added Dr. AlMalik.

The MoU stipulates that Alwaleed Philanthropies, over a period of one year, provide 2,090,000 US dollars in aid to contribute to the efforts of addressing the repercussions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in Niger, Senegal, Morocco, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Nigeria, the Sudan, Mauritania, and Cote d’Ivoire.

The initiative seeks to provide food assistance to the neediest populations and most affected by the pandemic, most notably centers of elderly care, people with disabilities, and women victim of violence, orphanages, refugee centers and patients in health centers and hospitals. It also aims to build local capacities in the production of sanitizers and protective equipment (gels, protective masks, ventilators) through prioritizing and empowering men and women entrepreneurs in local informal sectors.

The two parties agreed to set up an implementation schedule to be attached to the MoU and a code of conduct for media outreach specific to the partnership. In this regard, the MoU stipulates that ICESCO prepare a quarterly report about the implementation of the project in each of the target countries and a detailed one at the end of the implementation, on the most important innovative initiatives with photos of production units and recorded testimonials of some beneficiary citizens.

For 4 decades, Alwaleed Philanthropies has supported and spent more than 15 billion Saudi riyals and carried out more than 1000 projects in over 189 countries, managed by 10 Saudi female members, reaching more than 1 billion beneficiaries around the world, regardless of gender, race, or religion. Alwaleed Philanthropies collaborates with a range of philanthropic, governmental, and educational organizations to combat poverty, empower women and youth, develop communities, provide disaster relief and create cultural understanding through education. It seeks to build bridges for a more compassionate, tolerant, and accepting world.

Based in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco, ICESCO specialized in education, science and culture to bolster relations among Member States in the Islamic world. It seeks to build future decision-makers, share expertise, provide institutional support and upgrade development policies and innovation and knowledge systems.

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), today at the headquarters of the Organization, received Mr. Chu Yuan, Assistant Director General of Huawei Company in the Kingdom of Morocco, and together they explored ways of cooperation between ICESCO and Huawei in the fields of education, science and culture.

During this meeting, Dr. AlMalik reaffirmed that ICESCO’s new vision advocates openness to non-Member States, regional and international organizations, and civil society institutions in such a way as to serve ICESCO Member States and Muslim communities around the globe, while highlighting that ICESCO developed a new Charter of the Observer States, and calls upon all non-Member States to join the Organization as observer members.

In the same vein, ICESCO Director General reviewed the major initiatives, projects and programmes launched by the Organization to support the efforts geared toward countering the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, mainly ICESCO Prize for Fighting Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), with US$200,000 in prize money, to be awarded to anyone who discovers an efficient treatment or preventive vaccine against the virus; and “ICESCO Digital Home” which has become a rich knowledge platform targeting all categories and covering all ICESCO’s fields of action; as well as the initiative “Comprehensive Humanitarian Coalition” which targets through its executive projects and field programmes the poor and affected countries.

On his part, Mr. Yuan lauded ICESCO’s action supporting the efforts of countering the COVID-19 pandemic while pointing out that Huawei devotes great attention to its social responsibility by providing aid to the local communities in the host countries of Huawei’s branch offices, and offering scholarships to students to pursue their studies on technology in China.

The discussion also covered the prospects of cooperation between ICESCO and Huawei, particularly in the fields of education and Artificial Intelligence (AI) as well as the technological studies and research works.

The meeting was attended from ICESCO by Dr. Ahmed Said Bah, Director of the Sector of Partnerships and International Cooperation; Dr. Barry Koumbou, Director of the Sector of Education; and Ms. Rime Jirari, Head of the Department of Organizations and Institutions at the Sector of Partnerships and International Cooperation; and from Huawei Ms. Chaymae Salhi, Public Relations and Governmental Affairs Officer.

The Director General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, along with several officials from the Organization, met with Dr. Ramazan Abdulatipov, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to OIC, and his accompanying delegation to explore cooperation prospects between ICESCO and Russia, ICESCO Observer Member, in the fields of education, science and culture.

At the outset of the meeting held at ICESCO headquarters in Rabat, Dr. AlMalik welcomed the visiting delegation to which he reaffirmed that the Organization’s new vision promotes openness to and cooperation with all world’s countries in the Organization’s fields of competence for the benefit of Member States and Muslim communities in Non-Member States. He added that the vision seeks to ensure that Observer States play a larger role in the action of the Organization, which ushered in a new stage toward the attainment of this objective; and transmit the true image of the Islamic civilization and culture that promote world peace, hence its new modified name “Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization”.

By the same token, ICESCO Director General stated that cooperation with the Russian Federation, as an ICESCO Observer Member, is of paramount importance, thanks to the outstanding relations between Russia and the Islamic world and Russia’s progress in the areas of higher education, scientific research and new technologies and long-standing culture which tremendously contributed to human civilization. In this regard, Dr. AlMalik pointed out that ICESCO is ready to inscribe some Islamic historic sites in Russia on the Islamic World Heritage List (IWHL) which now includes 140 sites from 23 countries.

For his part, Dr. Abdulatipov lauded the new vision and its openness and the progress being made by the Organization, while expressing his delight at the meeting and the steps to be taken to coordinate the development of cooperation between Russia and ICESCO in its fields of competence and foster relations with Islamic world countries.

 In addition, Dr. Abdulatipov underlined that cooperation between Russia and ICESCO can cover higher education, modern technologies and strategic foresight given the large number of Russian scientific centers operating in the field of sustainable development and cultural fields, while reaffirming his commitment to give shape to this cooperation.

Several ICESCO officials then took the floor to stress the commitment of many sectors to cooperate with the Russian Federation and reach out to Russian technical experts to hold future meetings to agree on best modalities of cooperation. Mr. Valerian Shuvaev, Ambassador Plenipothentiary and Extraordinary of the Russian Federation to the Kingdom of Morocco, reaffirmed that the Embassy will follow up the work with ICESCO to coordinate cooperation.

The meeting was attended from the Russian side by Mr.Vassili Tchetchine, Advisor to the Russian Embassy to Morocco, Director of the Russian Cultural Center in Rabat, and Ms. Alina Danilova, Third Secretary at the Embassy.

In attndance from ICESCO were Dr. Ahmed Said Bah, Director of Extrenal Relations and Cooperation; Mr. Najib Rhiati, Director of Culture; Dr. Kais Hammami, Director of the Center of Strategic Foresight; Dr. Mohamed Hedi Shili, Chief of the Department of Legal Affairs; Ambassador Khalid Fathalrahman, Head of the Division of Dialogue and Cultural Diversity; Ms. Zineb Iraqi, Supervisor of the Center of Planning, Statistics and Assessment; Mr. Samy El Kamhawy, Supervisor of the Center of Communication; and Ms. Rime Jirari, Programme Specialist at the Directorate of External Rlations and Cooperation.

The Director General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, yesterday at ICESCO headquarters in Rabat, received Mr. Harsul Azwar, Ambassador of Indonesia to Morocco, and together they explored cooperation prospects between ICESCO and Indonesia in the next stage.

During the meeting, the parties explored ways to foster relations through programmes and initiatives mutually agreed by the Indonesian ministries of education, culture and science and ICESCO, as part of the new start of the Organization and its new vision, which came into effect after its adoption by the 40^th Executive Council (Abu Dhabi, UAE, 29-30 January 2020).

Dr. AlMalik reaffirmed ICESCO’s appreciation to Indonesia, as it is one of the important Member States and commended its progress and transition toward the future, its outstanding contribution to technological developments and its ancient monuments and landmarks attesting to the glorious Islamic civilization.

Moreover, ICESCO Director General expressed his thanks to the Indonesian Government for its willingness to pay the remainder of its arrears to ICESCO’s budget and commitment to regularly pay its contributions.

Talks during the meeting also touched on details of a future visit by the Director General to Indonesia to explore the frameworks of future cooperation with senior officials.

The meeting was also attended by Mr. Hanung Nugraha, Counsellor for Political and Economic Affairs at the Indonesian Embassy; Mr. Mahmudin, Counsellor for Social and Cultural Affairs; Mr. Najib Rhiati, Director of Culture; Dr. Ahmed Said Bah, Director of External Relations and Cooperation; Mr. Mohamed Ghemari, Director of the Secretariat of the General Conference, Executive Council and Specialized Ministerial Conferences; Dr. Kais Hammami, Director of the Center of Strategic Foresight; and Dr. Mohamed Hedi Shili, Legal Advisor to ICESCO Director General.