The 8^th session of the Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers (ICEM) was held on 02-03 October 2019 in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco. The Conference was organized by the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) and the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture and the General Authority of Meteorology and Environmental Protection of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in coordination with the General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The Conference brought together environment ministers of OIC member countries alongside representatives of several OIC institutions and international organizations. SESRIC was represented by the H.E. Mr. Nebil DABUR, Director General, and Mr. Mazhar Hussain, Director of Economic and Social Research Department, thereat.

The opening ceremony of the Conference was marked by the message sent by H.M. King Mohammed VI of Morocco to the participants, which was read out by H.E. Mr. Mohamed Laaraj, Minister of Culture and Communication of Kingdom of Morocco. Later on, statements were made by H.E. Dr. Abdulaziz bin Omar Al-Jasser, President of the 7^th ICEM and President of General Presidency of Meteorology and Environment Protection of Saudi Arabia, H.R.R. Princess Sumaya bint Hassan of Jordan, H.E. Dr. Dr. Salim AlMalik, Director General of ISESCO, and H.E. Dr. Yousef A. Othaimeen, Secretary General of OIC. The opening ceremony also marked by the presentation of the prizes of the Higher Committee of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Award for Environmental Management in the Islamic World (KSAAEM). The prizes were awarded to 17 winners from 13 OIC member countries.

Following the opening ceremony, the Ministerial Working Sessions started, where the Ministers and Head of Delegations reviewed and discussed a number of reference documents aimed at developing joint Islamic action in the field of the environment at the level of OIC member countries. These documents included, Draft Strategy for the Activation of the Role of Cultural and Religious Factors in Protecting the Environment and Achieving Sustainable Development in the Islamic World; Draft Guidance Document on Strengthening the Role of Youth and Civil Society in the Protection of the Environment and Achievement of Sustainable Development; ISESCO Report on the Executive Action Plan for Natural Disaster Risk Reduction and Management in the Member States.

On the second day of Ministerial Working Session, statements were made by the Ministers and Heads of Delegations of OIC and international institutions. In this session, H.E. Mr. Nebil DABUR, Director General of SESRIC, addressed the Conference. In his speech Mr. DABUR briefed the participants about the activities of SESRIC in the field of environment under its three mandated areas: statistics, research and training. In the domain of research, he mentioned about SESRIC’s research work on environment and related issues and presented the main findings of the OIC Environment Report 2019. Later on, he informed the participants about SESRIC’s OIC Statistics (OICStat) Database - the first and only international statistics repository on the OIC Countries- which includes more than 750 indicators under 24 categories including 85 indicators related to environment, water and agriculture. In the area of training and capacity building, he mentioned about capacity building programmes of SESRIC in the environment, water and agriculture sectors.

The 8^th Session of the ICEM was concluded with the election of the members of the Islamic Executive Bureau for the Environment, adoption of various resolutions and the Rabat Declaration.

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