The Director-General of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO), H.E. Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar, concluded his working visit to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, leading a delegation comprising Dr. Mohamed Sanad Abu Darwish, Director of Science and Scientific Research, and Dr. Mourad Mahmoudi, Secretary of the Executive Board and General Conference.
The Director-General began his visit with a meeting with H.E. Dr. Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary, Coordinator-General of the OIC Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH), and senior COMSTECH officials. The meeting focused on a proposed matrix of cooperation activities between the two sides for 2027 and 2028.
Discussions also addressed ways to expand scientific and technological cooperation between Arab countries and countries of the Islamic world, including university twinning, the promotion of scientific and academic exchanges among students and researchers, and institutional cooperation between Arab and Pakistani universities and research centers.
Both sides agreed that ALECSO would participate in the Rectors’ Conference, to be organized by COMSTECH in early December 2026. Under the agreement, ALECSO will oversee the participation of Arab universities in this prominent annual event.
Accompanied by the delegation, the Director-General also met with the Minister of State for Federal Education and Professional Training and the Minister of National Heritage and Culture. These meetings provided an opportunity to discuss ways to strengthen scientific, educational, and cultural cooperation between ALECSO and Pakistan.
In the field of higher education, the Director-General met with the Chairman of Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission. Discussions focused on mechanisms for developing partnerships between Arab universities and their Pakistani counterparts and promoting academic and research exchanges.
The ALECSO delegation also visited the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) in Islamabad, a leading university in Pakistan and South Asia. The delegation toured its Science and Technology Park and learned about its business incubators, which support start-ups and foster scientific research and innovation.
On the third day of the visit, the Director-General and his accompanying delegation met with a number of Arab ambassadors accredited to Pakistan, as part of a High-Level Strategic Dialogue jointly organized by COMSTECH and ALECSO on 14 October 2026 in Islamabad.
During the meeting, the Director-General briefed participants on ALECSO’s efforts to advance education, culture, and science across Arab countries. He reviewed the Organization’s flagship programmes and initiatives, including scientific mobility and Visiting Scholar programmes designed to draw on the expertise of leading Arab scholars and talents abroad; support for youth-led innovative start-ups; ALECSO’s directory of scientific research centers; and the Arab university twinning programme. He also highlighted initiatives aimed at strengthening the position of Arab women-researchers in the scientific community through the Arab Women Researchers Forum; supporting young researchers through the ALECSO Young Researchers Award; and promoting innovation and creativity through the Arab Innovators and Creators Conference.
The visit forms part of ALECSO’s ongoing efforts to expand its international partnerships in education, culture, and science. It culminated in the signing of several memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with Pakistani institutions, marking a further step towards strengthening Arab–Pakistani cooperation in these fields.
