ISLAMABAD (UNA) – The sixth meeting of the OIC Steering Committee to review progress made in the implementation of the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Agenda 22 was held today, Tuesday, April 2025, 2026, at the headquarters of the OIC Standing Ministerial Committee for Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) in Islamabad.
The meeting will be attended by heads and representatives of 15 OIC institutions from Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Jordan, Uganda, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Pakistan.
COMSTECH Coordinator General, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Iqbal Chowdhury, thanked the participating delegations for their active participation, emphasizing the importance of focusing the meeting on assessing progress made in implementing the STI 2026 Agenda, which was launched following the first OIC Summit on STI held in Astana, Kazakhstan, in 2017.
The meeting's agenda aims to enhance research cooperation, promote knowledge exchange, and enable technology transfer in support of sustainable development in the Islamic world.
For his part, Ambassador Aftab Ahmed Kokhar, Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), expressed his appreciation for COMSTECH's efforts in hosting the meeting, emphasizing the need to review the STI agenda, address its associated challenges, and chart a clear path to achieving tangible results. He also emphasized the importance of strengthening communication with member states to ensure effective implementation of the STI agenda and identify future steps beyond 2026.
The meeting's main agenda items included reviewing member states' progress toward achieving the STI 2026 Agenda goals, identifying new joint initiatives and partnerships, and discussing future steps aligned with the proposed agenda. Institutions also presented their progress, challenges, and recommendations within the Abu Dhabi Declaration 2022.
Participating institutions included the General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, the Islamic Organisation for Food Security (IOFS), the Union of OIC News Agencies (UNA), the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), the Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation (ICYF), the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Development (ICCD), the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC), and others.
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