The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the Government of the Lebanese Republic signed an agreement on humanitarian assistance to secure the return of Lebanese students who were pursuing their studies in Ukraine and were stranded in neighboring countries.

The agreement was signed at ICESCO Headquarters on Friday, June 3, 2022, by Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General (DG), and Mr. Ziad Atallah, the Lebanese Ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco.

During the signing, Dr. Al-Malik reaffirmed ICESCO’s eagerness to enhance cooperation with the Lebanese Republic in the fields of education, science and culture, as part of its new vision based on an open-door approach to all stakeholders to establish partnerships to support youth capacity-building in the Islamic world.

For his part, Ambassador Ziad Atallah expressed the gratitude and appreciation by government and people of Lebanon to ICESCO for its support, especially during the difficult circumstances the country is going through, noting that this humanitarian assistance from ICESCO will contribute to solving a major problem facing some Lebanese families of the currently stranded students.

The Lebanese ambassador valued ICESCO efforts in promoting regional cooperation and exchanging expertise and experiences, noting the high-quality activities that the Organization held to address important issues for the youths in the Islamic world and contribute to strengthening their sense of belonging.

Dr. Abdelilah Benarfa, Deputy DG, Ambassador Khaled Fath Al-Rahman, Head of the Center for Civilizational Dialogue, and Mr. Mohamed Hedi Shili, Head of the Department of Legal Affairs and International Standards, attended the signing of the agreement.