Upon instructions of His Excellency Mr. Yerlan A. Baidaulet, the Director General of the Islamic Organization of Food Security (IOFS), on 28 July 2022, a lecture was given by Mr. Abdula Manafi Mutualo, IOFS Senior Liaison Officer, to students of international relations of different Universities in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, who are part of the National Model of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
At the talk devoted to the topic “Food Security in the OIC and the role of IOFS”, the presenter highlighted the important work being implemented by the Organization, emphasizing, particularly, the different programmes that divided under five pillars of the IOFS Strategic Framework and 2031 Vision. The talk also mentioned the importance of humanitarian work of the IOFS with particular focus to the mandate of the 17th Extraordinary CFM on the Humanitarian Situation in Afghanistan, held on 18-19 December 2021, in Islamabad, Pakistan, that entrusted the IOFS to implement the “Afghanistan Food Security Programme” (AFSP).
In the exchange with the students, Mr. Manafi invited students to be familiarize themselves with IOFS by, for instance, following the work of the Organization in different social media platforms. He also urged them to interact with IOFS Secretariat by providing their comments and ideas on suitable programmes/projects that would be helpful for young people to be part of the food security agenda. In fact, in the interactive Q&A session, the students were keen to understand more the programmes the IOFS has in terms of tackling climate change factors vis-à-vis food security and agricultural development.
It should be mentioned that participants were glad to note that the IOFS has several opportunities for youth, including the i) the IOFS-COMSTECH Fellowship Program; ii) OIC Food System Talent Development, and iii) the upcoming conference on “Pakistan-Turkey-Kazakhstan Youth Forum on Biotechnology”, to be held in Islamabad, Pakistan, on 13-15 September 2022” in cooperation with COMSTECH.
