Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD: On the sidelines of the 48th session of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Dr. Riyad Al-Malki, Minister of Foreign Affairs, met with Dr. Iqbal Chaudhry, General Coordinator of the Ministerial Standing Committee for Scientific and Technological Cooperation in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (COMSTECH), one of the subsidiary institutions of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

The meeting dealt with ways to enhance cooperation between the Committee and the State of Palestine in the field of science and technology, and the possibility of benefiting from the capabilities of the State of Palestine and its human and scientific resources in training, cooperation with Islamic countries and exchanging experiences, as well as providing support to Palestine in building local capacities in the fields of science and technology by benefiting Palestinian citizens.  From research fellowships, training of technicians, and participation in workshops in emerging fields organized by the Committee for Palestinian citizens.

For his part, Minister Dr. Al-Malki thanked Mr. Chaudry for his efforts and the committee’s support for capacity building, providing scholarships for Palestinian citizens and vocational training in various academic fields, stressing that there is room for expanding the partnership with COMSTECH, as Palestine pays special attention to capacity building and sharing experiences in many fields.

It made a special effort and possessed qualified Palestinian cadres in the fields of medicine, engineering, agriculture and other vital fields. In turn, Dr. Chaudhry briefed Minister al-Maliki on the activities of the committee and the launch of a special program that provides scholarships, research fellowships, and training of technicians for Palestinian citizens.

An orientation session will be held to raise awareness of this opportunity on March 30, 2022. They exchanged discussions on the method of activating and developing cooperation between the State of Palestine and COMSTECH, and they agreed to build on and develop the current cooperation.