The General Conference of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), which was hosted by Egypt under the high patronage of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, concluded its proceedings on Thursday, December 9, 2021, by adopting resolutions and composing the respective bureaus of the General Conference and the Executive council.

The working sessions of the closing day saw constructive discussions on the future of education and the importance of investing in space sciences. The sessions kicked off with statements by the heads of the participating delegations, who commended ICESCO’s efforts to address the needs of Member States in the fields of education, science and culture, highlighting its successful approach to promote coordination, cooperation, innovation and exchange of knowledge and expertise.

The second working session focused on educational challenges in a post-COVID-19 world, which featured a lecture by Mr. Kailash Satyarthi, Founder of Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation and Nobel Prize Laureate, 2014, who expressed his delight for the special partnership between the Foundation and ICESCO in its capacity as a beacon of global outreach. The Nobel Prize Laureate reaffirmed the importance of exerting joint efforts to protect children, counter school dropout and protect children’s rights against all violations.

For her part, Ms. Kathryn Thornton, Chairwoman of the US Space Foundation, gave a lecture during the third working session dedicated to space sciences and highlighted the importance of this scientific discipline in promoting sustainable development.

The General Conference approved several key resolutions, including the Report of the Executive Council on its Activities between the 13th and 14th Sessions of the General Conference; ICESCO’s Report on its Activities between 2019-2021; and ICESCO’s Financial Reports for 2018-2020. The Conference also adopted ICESCO’s Report on Member States’ Contributions for 2018-2020 and Improvement of ICESCO’s Financial Sustainability; the Organization’s Vision; the Draft Strategic Orientations by 2025; the Draft Two-Year Action Plan and Budget for 2022-2023; the Draft ICESCO Chairs Regulations; the Draft Regulations of the Young Professionals Programme; the Draft Charter of the National Commissions for ICESCO; and the Implementation of ICESCO’s New Organizational Structure and Relevant Development Proposals.

The Conference approved the Proposed Amendments to the Observer Status Regulations, the Personnel and the Report on Developing ICESCO’s External Organs, and the General Principles and Guidelines Governing their Action. The Conference also approved the members of the Executive Council and decided to hold the 15th Session of the ICESCO General Conference in December 2025 at ICESCO headquarters in Rabat, Morocco In his closing remarks, Dr. Salim AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General (DG), expressed his thanks and gratitude to President El Sisi for his patronage of the 14th Session of the General Conference and to His Majesty King Mohamed VI of Morocco, may Allah preserve him, for his sustained support and high patronage of ICESCO’s programs and initiatives. The DG also expressed his thanks to the kings and heads of ICESCO Member States for their support for ICESCO.

The DG conveyed his thanks to Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, President of the Egyptian Commission for Education, Science and Culture, President of the 14th Session of ICESCO General Conference, as well as to the representatives of the international and regional organizations taking part in the Conference for their valuable input and constructive recommendations on issues pertaining to education, science, technology and culture.

The DG concluded his remarks by reaffirming ICESCO’s commitment to continue its development and improvement efforts to promote work quality to sustain its role as a leading international organization, guided by a strategic vision that takes into account the contents of the plans, documents, and recommendations adopted by the 14th Session of the Conference.

Dr. Abdel Ghaffar, President of ICESCO General Conference, announced the close of the Conference proceedings, expressing his thanks and appreciation to the delegations taking part in this session and congratulating them on the success made over these two days of intensive work, which reflected the unanimous agreement on ICESCO’s priorities in service of Member States.