Organized by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Knowledge, the two-day meeting aims to engage in a discussion of the global knowledge index as a comprehensive performance indicator to help decision-makers better understand contemporary changes and challenges, and to discuss future opportunities for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Speaking on the occasion, ICESCO Director General Salim M. Al-Malik stressed that in the third millennium, the power of countries is measured by their achievements in science, technology, scientific research and innovation.
M. Al-Malik said that countries are following the changes generated by the knowledge era by relying on soft power strategies and investing in IT and patents, which represent the new fields of knowledge, adding that the knowledge sought at present is that which follows “the international economic changes, moving from an economy centered on traditional means to a new economy that is based on innovation and digital as essential pillars”.
For his part, Executive Director of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Knowledge, Jamal Ben Houireb, said that the organization he leads is committed to supporting ICESCO in its modernization and development efforts in the field of knowledge.
Chief Technical Advisor and Director of the Knowledge Project at UNDP, Hani Turki, praised ICESCO’s support for cultural development efforts, commending the initiatives of the organization and those of the member countries to carry out their actions in these fields.
