Al-Othaimeen Stresses the Centrality of Environmental Protection in Sustainable Economic Development of the OIC Countries

25/10/2017- The 7th Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers commenced its activities on 25 October 2017 and was inaugurated by HRH Princess Lalla Hasna, President of Mohammed VI Foundation for the protection of Environment. The session was chaired by HE Abdulrahman bin Abdulmuhsin Al-Fadli, Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture of Saudi Arabia. Ministers of Environment of the OIC Member States, high-level officials, representatives of relevant OIC institutions and international organizations attended the meeting, which was jointly organized by ISESCO and the OIC.

HE Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen, OIC Secretary General in his speech to the Environment Ministers Conference, congratulated the Government of Morocco for the successful hosting of the COP 22 Climate Change Conference in Marrakesh last year. He underscored the centrality of environmental protection in sustainable economic development of the OIC countries. He emphasized the need to adopt participatory approach and strengthen cooperation between the national institutions, private sector and community at large for implementing environmental programs and projects in the Member States. The Secretary General also highlighted the efforts of the OIC including the adoption of the OIC STI Agenda 2026 and OIC Water Vision 2025 to help the Member States on environment and climate change related issues.

OIC accords high priority to help the Member States in a broad spectrum of domains including agriculture and rural development, environmental protection, climate change and water, food and energy security. The OIC 2025: Program of Action prioritizes issues that are of direct relevance to the objectives of environment protection and sustainable development. The First OIC Summit on Science and Technology held in Astana on 10-11 September 2017 adopted the OIC STI Agenda 2026 that set specific targets for the Member States to achieve environment sustainability.

In line with the priorities defined by the Member States, the OIC General Secretariat in collaboration with ISESCO and other relevant OIC institutions have been steadily widening the scope of their programs and activities and building international partnerships to foster cooperation among member states in the field of Environment protection and Climate Change.

Source: http://www.oic-oci.org/topic/?t_id=15967&t_ref=8059&lan=en