Islamic conference on higher education winds up

The first Islamic conference on higher education and scientific research meeting held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, adopted a set of recommendations and decisions meant to upgrade scientific research in the Islamic world.

The conference adopted a Moroccan proposal to launch an Islamic scientific research center to monitor and coordinate work by Islamic research institutions. The center will also carry out major Islamic projects and train scientists from the Islamic world.

The conference, held Sunday through Wednesday at the initiative of ISESCO and the Saudi higher education department, also decided to set up an Islamic advisory council on science that will draft a strategy for the promotion of science and technology.

The creation of an Islamic fund for human resources promotion was also debated by the conference that called for further cooperation between university institutions and industrial enterprises to consolidate the scientific research-development relationship.

A call was launched to convert part of the debt of some Islamic countries into scientific research financing and Islamic expatriate scientists were urged to contribute to the development of sciences and technology in their native countries.

Morocco was represented at the conference by minister of higher education and scientific research, Najib Zerouali.