Category: News

Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), and Mr. Sultan Raev, Secretary-General of the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY), held discussions on ways to strengthen cooperation between the two organizations in cultural fields, with a particular focus on heritage preservation and promotion.

The meeting, held today, Wednesday, December 18, 2024, at ICESCO’s headquarters in Rabat, coincided with the commemoration of the 300th anniversary of the birth of the renowned Turkmen poet and thinker Magtymguly Fragi. This event was co-organized by ICESCO, TURKSOY, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.

During the meeting, attended by Ms. Lachin Ovazgeldiyeva, Turkmenistan’s delegate to TURKSOY, both parties reiterated their commitment to building a fruitful partnership. This partnership aims to implement programs and projects for the benefit of Member States of both organizations. Key objectives include promoting coexistence, peace, intercultural dialogue, recognizing figures of the Islamic world who have contributed to human civilization, and preserving tangible and intangible heritage of Islamic nations.

The meeting also explored several proposals for collaboration. Both parties agreed to maintain close coordination to develop implementation plans for the selected programs and projects.

ICESCO was represented at the meeting by Dr. Raheel Qamar, Head of the Science and Environment Sector; Mr. Anar Karimov, Head of Partnerships and International Cooperation; and Ms. Sally Mabrouk, Director of the Office of DG.

The headquarters of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) hosted the International Conference on “Interfaith Harmony: Nurturing Peaceful Coexistence”, organized on Tuesday, December 17, 2024, by ICESCO, in partnership with the State Committee for Religious Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani Embassy in Rabat, to discuss the role of religion in building peaceful societies and ways to address the challenges of promoting coexistence and interfaith dialogue as a tool for conflict resolution.

The conference, which saw high-level attendance led by Andre Azoulay, Advisor to His Majesty King Mohammed VI of the Kingdom of Morocco, as well as a number of ambassadors and representatives of diplomatic missions in Rabat, began with the recitation of verses from the Holy Quran, followed by a presentation by Ambassador Khalid Fathalrahman, Head of ICESCO’s Center for Civilizational Dialogue, in which he stressed the importance of this international conference in the path of establishing world peace.

In his address, Dr. Salim M. Al-Malik, ICESCO Director-General (DG), stressed that the current global developments and transformations place great responsibilities on everyone to build peace and maintain security, as the current situation requires a moment to uphold the values of human partnership, pointing out to the need to recognize the efficiency of faith and its people as peace bearers in shaping the future of humanity.

He added that ICESCO’s newly coined concept of “civilizational diplomacy” serves as a tool to resolve culturally rooted conflicts, indicating that the Organization is tirelessly working to ensure the steady progress of international peace. He also lauded Azerbaijan’s remarkable success in managing its unique diversity, commending the partnership between ICESCO and Azerbaijan.

For his part, Mr. Ramin Mammadov, Chairman of the State Committee for Religious Affairs of Azerbaijan, highlighted the great attention that Azerbaijan pays to promoting the culture of diversity, coexistence and harmony, and supporting the values of religious freedom, commending ICESCO’s efforts to promote coexistence and peace.

Rafael Huseynov, Deputy Chair, Milli Majlis (Parliament) of the Republic of Azerbaijan, stressed that the Islamic world’s civilization is a common and diverse heritage shared by many peoples, who remained united under the umbrella of civilization regardless of their different languages, religions, customs and traditions.

The first session discussed “Interreligious Harmony as a Basic Element of Sustainable Development” with the participation of experts from Egypt, Azerbaijan, Libya and Senegal. The second session tackled the “Best Practices in Religious Coexistence” with the participation of experts from Azerbaijan, Italy, Britain, and Tunisia.

ICESCO DG took the distinguished guests on a tour of the sideline exhibition “Shared Humanity, Diverse Faiths” to highlight religious diversity and tolerance in Azerbaijan.