The Delegation of the Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS) appointed by its Director General, His Excellency Mr. Yerlan Baidaulet, attended the work and closing ceremony of the 6th Annual Coordination Meeting of OIC Institutions (ACMOI), held at the General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on 15 December 2022.
The IOFS was represented by Dr. Ismail Abdelhamid, Director of Programmes & Projects, and Mr. Abdula Manafi Mutualo, Senior Liaison Officer, who engaged in different activities as part of the Meeting, including effective inclusion at the Science & Technology Committee of initiatives for joint implementation potentially with the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), and the Ministerial Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (COMSTECH).
The closing ceremony, aside from adopting the ACMOI Matrix 2023, featured statements of His Excellency the OIC Secretary-General, Mr. Hissein Brahim Taha, who, inter alia, emphasized the need to enhance coordination in the elaboration of a successor program to the OIC 2015 – 2025 Program of Action for the decade 2026 – 2035, and invited all Institutions to be united in such an important work, while representatives of IsDB and ICESCO assured of their commitment to the ACMOI process and availability to coordinate activities with all participating Institutions.
On the margins of the Meeting, the IOFS Delegation held different bilateral meetings, including with H.E. Ambassador Tarig Ali Bakheet, OIC Assistant Secretary General for Humanitarian, Social & Cultural Affairs, to review the implementation status of the Afghanistan Food Security Program (AFSP), with Prof. Nassirou Bako-Arifari, OIC Special Envoy for Africa, to exchange views on how to align respective efforts in Africa, particularly in the context of the work of IOFS Special Envoy for Africa and the implementation of Africa Food Security Initiative (AFSI), and with Executive Director of Women Development Organization (WDO), Dr. Afnan Alshuhaiby, to continue joint working towards implementing tangible projects/initiatives, as was the case of farmers training in Niamey last May.
It is important to note that the gathering reviewed the progress made since the 5th ACMOI meeting in 2019 and considered new tasks emanating from the latest Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) resolutions and decisions of other OIC Ministerial Conferences in the socio-economic domain.
The meeting also reviewed the progress towards the attainment of the objectives of the OIC-2025 Program of Action and plans for a successor program for the decade 2026 – 2035, while deciding that the 7th ACMOI would be held on 06-07 December 2023 at the same venue.