OIC urges member states to implement science, technology agenda during Islamabad moot
Islamabad: An Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) official on Tuesday urged member states to intensify their efforts in implementing the OIC's Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Agenda 2026 to ensure sustainable development.
The Ministerial Standing Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation for Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) is organizing the sixth meeting of the OIC steering committee for the implementation of the organization's Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Agenda 2026 from Apr. 22-24 in Islamabad.
The OIC's STI Agenda 2026, launched at the First OIC Summit on Science and Technology in Astana, Kazakhstan in 2017, is a strategic framework to advance science and technology by fostering collaboration, promoting sustainable development and enhancing the scientific capabilities of member states.
'I stress the utter importance of intensifying our efforts in implementing the OIC STI Agenda 2026 until it expires,' Ambassador Aftab Ahmed Khokhar, the OIC's assistant secretary general for science and technology, said in his address during the meeting's inaugural session.
This high-level meeting is being attended by the heads and representatives of 15 OIC institutions from Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Türkiye, Jordan, Uganda, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Pakistan.
The STI agenda's progress is reviewed through regular meetings of the OIC Steering Committee. These meetings assess achievements, identify challenges and set future directions for the agenda's implementation.
Khokhar highlighted the urgency of reviewing the STI Agenda, addressing associated challenges and outlining a way forward to ensure impactful outcomes.
'The OIC STI agenda, which is expiring in 2026, may be extended for another 10 years from 2027 to 2037, splitting into several shorter time frames with measurable and realistic actions to be executed,' he said.
COMSTECH Coordinator General Prof. Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhary said that with a population of 2 billion people across 57 countries, the OIC is focused on equipping its youth with science and technology to drive socioeconomic change.
'The OIC STI Agenda 2026 focuses on 12 priorities including ensuring quality education for all, enhancing youth employability through skills and training, and securing access to food, water, and energy as essential foundations for sustainable development,' Choudhary told Arab News.
He said it was very important to understand climate change and its impact on human life, highlighting it as one of the key areas where member states were working together under the STI agenda.
The COMSTECH official said Pakistan and Saudi Arabia could lead the Muslim world in this field. He noted that in recent years, the Kingdom under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's leadership, has achieved major milestones in science and technology-driven socio-economic development.
'I think Pakistan and Saudi Arabia can work together not only for bilateral benefit and cooperation but also to benefit other countries in the Muslim world,' Chaudhary explained.
He said Saudi Arabia had a leader's role to play in developing an economically inclusive Muslim world through the use of science, technology and industry.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
4 days ago
- Arab News
Pakistani delegation urges US, OIC states to play role for ‘comprehensive dialogue' with India
ISLAMABAD: A high-level Pakistani delegation, set up by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, has urged the United States (US) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) envoys at the United Nations to play their role for the resumption of a 'comprehensive dialogue' between Pakistan and India to resolve the Kashmir dispute and other issues, Pakistan's mission to the UN and state media said on Tuesday. Led by former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the nine-member parliamentary delegation arrived in New York on Monday as the first stop in a diplomatic mission to present Pakistan's position in world capitals following Islamabad's recent military conflict with India. The group headed by Bhutto-Zardari will visit New York, Washington DC, London and Brussels. Another delegation, led by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Syed Tariq Fatemi, will also visit Moscow. Tensions between Pakistan and India are high after they struck a ceasefire on May 10 following the most intense military confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbors in decades. Both countries accuse the other of supporting militancy on each other's soil — a charge both capitals deny. The latest escalation last month took place following weeks of tensions after India blamed Pakistan for supporting an April 22 attack on the Kashmir territory it governs that killed 26 tourists. Pakistan denied involvement in the incident and called for an international probe. Both countries traded missiles, artillery fire and drone strikes before Washington brokered a ceasefire on May 10. ' Bhutto-Zardari has urged the US to play its role in ensuring comprehensive dialogue between Pakistan and India to address all outstanding issues,' the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported after the Pakistani delegates' meeting with US Acting Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Dorothy Shea in New York. Bhutto-Zardari briefed Ambassador Shea on the developments following the April 22 attack, expressing deep concern over India's immediate attribution of blame to Pakistan without any 'credible investigation or verifiable evidence.' 'Such premature and baseless allegations exacerbate tensions and undermine prospects for constructive dialogue and peace,' he was quoted as saying. On Monday, the Pakistani delegates held a meeting with OIC envoys at the UN, wherein they reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to peace, restraint, and diplomacy, and called for the restoration of the Indus Waters Treaty by India, full respect for the ceasefire, and the resumption of a 'comprehensive dialogue, with the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute at its core,' Pakistan's Permanent Mission to the UN said. India suspended the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan a day after the attack at the Pahalgam resort town. The move drew a sharp response from Islamabad, which said any attempts to divert or stop the flow of its waters by India would be considered an 'act of war.' About 80 percent of Pakistani farms depend on the Indus system, as do nearly all hydropower projects serving the country of some 250 million. 'Bhutto-Zardari expressed grave concern at the unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty — a move that Pakistan considers a blatant act of weaponizing water and a violation of international and treaty obligations,' the Pakistani mission said. The former Pakistani foreign minister thanked OIC countries for their efforts and role aimed at de-escalation, mediation and ceasefire during the conflict. He highlighted that the only path to peace was in dialogue, engagement and diplomacy. 'OIC has emerged as the moral conscience of the world in these difficult times,' Bhutto-Zardari said, thanking the OIC member states for their steadfast support for the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The statement said that the OIC's permanent representatives appreciated Pakistan's briefing and reaffirmed their solidarity with the country. 'They reiterated their concern over the worsening security situation in South Asia and stressed the importance of upholding the principles of the UN Charter and international law and in this regard, the sanctity of treaties, including the Indus Waters Treaty,' Pakistan's UN mission said. The Pakistani delegation also met Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, president of the UN Security Council for June, according to a statement issued by Bhutto-Zardari party. 'The Pakistani delegation stressed that in the face of a growing trend of unilateralism and escalation, the Security Council must play its crucial role to ensure peace and conflict resolution,' it said. The delegation urged the Security Council to play a 'proactive role' in promoting de-escalation, ensuring respect for international law and treaties and facilitating peaceful resolution of disputes. The statement said Birkett reaffirmed the Security Council's commitment to upholding international peace and security in line with its mandate. Bitter rivals India and Pakistan have fought three wars, including two of them over the disputed region of Kashmir, since gaining independence from British rule in 1947. Both claim the Himalayan territory in its entirety but rule it in part.
Arab News
5 days ago
- Arab News
Pakistani delegation demands resumption of ‘comprehensive' dialogue with India in briefing to OIC envoys
ISLAMABAD: A high-level Pakistani delegation set up by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif this week briefed members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at the United Nations, calling for the resumption of a 'comprehensive dialogue' with India to resolve the Kashmir dispute and other issues, Pakistan's mission to the UN said. Led by former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the nine-member parliamentary delegation arrived in New York on Monday as the first stop in a diplomatic mission to present Pakistan's position in world capitals following Islamabad's recent military conflict with India. The group headed by Bhutto Zardari will visit New York, Washington DC, London and Brussels. Another delegation, led by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Syed Tariq Fatemi, will also visit Moscow. Tensions between Pakistan and India are high after they struck a ceasefire on May 10 following the most intense military confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbors in decades. Both countries accuse the other of supporting militancy on each other's soil — a charge both capitals deny. The latest escalation last month took place following weeks of tensions after India blamed Pakistan for supporting an April 22 attack on the Kashmir territory it governs that killed 26 tourists. Pakistan denied involvement in the incident and called for an international probe. Both countries traded missiles, artillery fire and drone strikes before Washington brokered a ceasefire on May 10. 'He [Bhutto Zardari] reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to peace, restraint, and diplomacy, and called for the restoration of the Indus Waters Treaty, full respect for the ceasefire, and the resumption of a comprehensive dialogue with India, with the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute at its core,' Pakistan's Permanent Mission to the United Nations said in a statement on Monday. Following the attack at the Pahalgam tourist resort in April, India suspended the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan. The move drew a sharp response from Islamabad, which said any attempts to divert or stop the flow of its waters by India would be considered an 'act of war.' About 80 percent of Pakistani farms depend on the Indus system, as do nearly all hydropower projects serving the country of some 250 million. 'Mr. Bhutto expressed grave concern at the unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty — a move that Pakistan considers a blatant act of weaponizing water and a violation of international and treaty obligations,' the statement said. The former Pakistani foreign minister thanked OIC countries for their efforts and role aimed at de-escalation, mediation and ceasefire during the conflict. He highlighted that the only path to peace was in dialogue, engagement and diplomacy. 'Mr. Bilawal Bhutto underlined that OIC has emerged as the moral conscience of the world in these difficult times and thanked the OIC member states for their steadfast support for the people of Jammu and Kashmir,' the statement said. The statement said that the OIC's permanent representatives appreciated Pakistan's briefing and reaffirmed their solidarity with the country. 'They reiterated their concern over the worsening security situation in South Asia and stressed the importance of upholding the principles of the UN Charter and international law and in this regard, the sanctity of treaties, including the Indus Waters Treaty,' Pakistan's permanent mission to the UN said.
Arab News
5 days ago
- Arab News
What We Are Reading Today: ‘Volcanoes: Crucibles of Change'
Author: Richard V. Fisher 'Volcanoes: Crucibles of Change' explores the science and mystery of volcanoes. The author chronicles not only their geologic behavior but also their profound effect on human life. The book covers the surprisingly large variety of volcanoes, the subtle to conspicuous signs preceding their eruptions, and their far-reaching atmospheric consequences, according to a review on Tourists will find their scientific curiosity whetted by this informative and entertaining book.
