The National Committee for Education, Culture and Science (NCECS) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia presented the features of the general strategy for its membership in the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO). It is expected that the provisions of the strategy will be implemented starting from 2023 until 2025. The strategy was presented by the Saudi Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education for International Cooperation, Dr. Saleh bin Ibrahim Al-Qasoumi, and the Secretary-General of NCECS Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al-Bulahid, under the supervision and directives of Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, the Minister of Culture and Chairman of NCECS. The strategy was presented on the sidelines of 43rd session of the Executive Council of ISESCO, held on Dec 23 and 24 in the Moroccan capital, Rabat. The strategy, which focused on activating the strategic presence of the Kingdom in ISESCO, included 5 main lists, the first focused on the strategic goal of joining ISESCO, the second dealt with the "future outlook", the third included 75 initiatives, and the fourth dealt with 14 partnerships between Saudi authorities with the Organization, And the last, fifth, included 4 recommendations. The strategy also identified its "main objective" in supporting ISESCO in a way that serves the countries of the Islamic world in strengthening its efforts in the fields of education, culture, science, information and communication, while the "future vision" of the strategy was divided between improving the efficiency of the financial support allocated to the Organization, presenting Saudi awards in the Organization's fields of work, activating its regional and international role with the participation of Saudi experts, and finally enhancing participation in programs and initiatives through strategic partnerships in the sectors of ISESCO with the relevant local authorities. Concerning the proposals announced by the strategy, they included 16 proposals adopted by NCECS, which focus in their entirety on consolidating the Kingdom's presence and strengthening its role in ISESCO, 5 initiatives supervised by the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation, and 3 initiatives implemented by the Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence, 3 initiatives related to the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, 7 initiatives undertaken by the Ministry of Information, and 15 initiatives adopted by the Ministry of Education, in addition to the above 22 initiatives supervised by the Ministry of Culture, and two initiatives undertaken by King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, and Finally, one initiative, which is adopted by Misk Foundation. The list of "partnerships" included in the strategy included 14 partnerships and memorandums of understanding, most notably memorandums of understanding between ISESCO on the one hand, with the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Communications and a number of educational, scientific, financial and other institutions. NCECS recommended working on the implementation of the strategic plan, in coordination with the relevant authorities, and communicating with the relevant national authorities to determine the activities, programs and initiatives proposed to be implemented, and increasing the definition of the organization among the authorities concerned with education, culture, science, information and communication (governmental, private and non-profit sectors).
