The Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu will leave for Islamabad, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, on Monday, 10 January 2011 to participate in the 14th Session of the General Assembly of the OIC Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) which will be held from 11 to 13 January 2011 in Islamabad. The Secretary General is expected to have bilateral meetings with the top leaders of the country to discuss, inter alia, issues of concern and cooperation between the OIC and Pakistan, OIC said on its website. The COMSTECH General Assembly will review the measures taken by the OIC Member States to enhance Science and Technology (S&T) and consider ways and means to boost this field among the Member States. One of the plenary sessions will in particular look into the Mid-Term Review of the OIC Ten-Year Plan of Action (POA) and Vision 1441H for S&T and review reports on steps taken by OIC institutions to implement the Ten-Year POA and Vision 1441H and review reports of the Inter-Islamic Networks set up by COMSTECH in this regard. The collaborative activities of COMSTECH with International Organizations outside the OIC System will also be appraised by the meeting. Furthermore, the General Assembly would go through the report on the implementation of 2008-2009 COMSETCH Biennial Programme; Policy Guidelines for new initiatives and proposals from COMSTECH Executive Committee; and proposed Programme and Budget for 2010-2011. It is worth mentioning that the Islamabad-based COMSTECH is chaired by the President of Pakistan and is mandated by the OIC to consolidate the individual and collective capacity of the OIC Member States in the fields of S&T by promoting mutual cooperation, collaboration and networking of resources to foster rapid industrialization and socio-economic development.
