Kazakhstan Participates in the Ministerial Conference of the Islamic Organization for Education, Science and Culture (ISESCO)
Jeddah, February 12-13, 2025, – A delegation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, led by Mr. Yevgeniy Kochetov, Vice Minister of Culture and Information, participated in the 13th Ministerial Conference of the Islamic Organization for Education, Science and Culture (ISESCO).
The participants were addressed with welcoming speeches by Prince Badr bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister of Culture of Saudi Arabia, Mr. Hissein Brahim Taha, Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and Mr. Salim Al-Malik, Director-General of ISESCO. During the Conference, the State of Qatar officially handed over the chairmanship to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The conference was honored by the presence of Mr. Rustam Minnikhanov, President of the Republic of Tatarstan, who announced Russia's bid to nominate Kazan as the Islamic Cultural Capital for 2026.
The participants reviewed reports on the activities of ISESCO and its committees and discussed plans for the coming years. They also approved several new strategic documents, including the Initiative on Cultural Rights and the Right to Culture in Islamic States and the Document on Revitalizing the Restoration of Cultural and Historical Sites in Islamic Countries.
At the conclusion of the conference, participants adopted the final communiqué (Jeddah Declaration) and corresponding resolutions aimed at promoting Islamic cultural values globally.
On the sidelines of the conference, the Head of the Kazakhstan delegation held several bilateral meetings with ISESCO leadership and counterparts from Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan. Additionally, the Deputy Minister of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan gave an interview to the leading Pan-Arab newspaper, Asharq Al-Awsat, highlighting Kazakhstan's achievements in the fields of culture and art, as well as plans to further develop and strengthen cultural and humanitarian cooperation with the Islamic world.
Reference: The Ministerial Conference of the Islamic Organization for Education, Science and Culture (ISESCO) is held every two years. At the 12th Conference in Qatar in 2023, Kazakhstan was elected as a member of the Islamic World Heritage Committee for 2024-2025.
The Committee works to strengthen international cooperation in the restoration and preservation of tangible and intangible heritage located within the territories of ISESCO member states. Currently, Kazakhstan's traditional game «Togyzkumalak» is included in the list of the Islamic world's intangible cultural heritage.