President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov took part in the second summit of the Islamic Cooperation Organization (ICO) on science and technologies via videoconferencing. The event under the slogan “Science, technology and innovation: opening new horizons” was chaired by the United Arab Emirates.

The virtual Summit was attended by heads of a number of states, as well as heads of relevant ministries and other relevant structures of the Organization's member states. The agenda of the forum included issues of further interaction in the socio-economic, scientific-technological, humanitarian-cultural and political spheres, the progress of the implementation of the ICO Program in these areas until 2026.

After the opening of the online forum, the floor was given to its participants.

In the beginning of his speech, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov thanked the Secretary General of the ICO, Dr. Yosef Bin Ahmad Al-Usaimin for organizing the Summit. The issue brought up for consideration during the current meeting is very relevant in the modern period of an unprecedented breakthrough in the field of information technologies and the demand for joint scientific research in those areas that are of significant interest to humanity, the head of state noted.

The President stressed that today the Islamic civilization, which has made an invaluable contribution to the development of world science and culture, is going through a difficult time that requires solidarity approaches for a consistent transition to innovative and high-tech models of economic growth. There are all the necessary opportunities for this - human potential, rich natural resources, significant financial resources, favorable physical and geographical conditions.

To date, the OIC has already taken significant steps towards the effective and rational use of the above opportunities in order to achieve real benefits for all members of the Muslim world.
President Berdimuhamedov recalled that the first Summit on science and technologies has been held in September 2017. Certain results have been achieved in the implementation of the Organization's ten-year action Program for 2005-2015 in this area, which made it possible to specify new tasks and long-term goals in the second program document for the period up to 2026.

In this context, Turkmenistan highly appreciates the successes achieved to date in solving the priority tasks outlined in the above-mentioned document, as well as the activities of the ICO Permanent Committee for scientific and technological cooperation in this direction, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said.

Continuing on this subject, the leader of the nation outlined promising vectors of partnership that will bring real results for all member states of the Islamic Cooperation Organization.

First, it is the establishment of contacts for the development of fundamental science, joint search for effective scientific solutions, development of methods for the exchange of the results of important research, especially in the field of medicine and health care.

This initiative of the Turkmen side has identified as one of the key directions of the Organization's 2026 Agenda in the field of innovations related to the creation of scientific and scientific-technological centers. Here, in particular, we are talking about the creation of a Network of ICO Research Centers, which will constitute the scientific and technological potential of the Islamic world and will allow the exchange of data between the scientific communities of our countries promptly and consistently, the head of Turkmenistan explained.

Secondly, it is proposed to intensify the process of developing a unified concept or basic rules for water, food and environmental security in the ICO space. This is clearly stated in the Program for Scientific and Technical Cooperation until 2026.

The absence of separate conceptual documents in such an important area does not allow us to consistently solve existing complex problems, such as equal provision of water resources, strategic food products and overcoming the negative consequences of climate change and environmental disasters, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted.

Reaffirming its strong commitment to consolidate and scale up international efforts against contemporary environmental threats, Turkmenistan proposes a number of concrete and urgent measures. In particular, our country announced the need to take steps to develop low-carbon energy, as well as to develop, under the auspices of the United Nations, a Global Strategy aimed at creating a Roadmap for the development of hydrogen as one of the priority areas in the energy sector.

Speaking about this, the head of state expressed his conviction that the solidarity of the Islamic world in the implementation of international initiatives in these areas is designed to help each member of the ICO achieve the goals defined in the Global Agenda for Sustainable Development until 2030.

Thirdly, noting the importance of the previously outlined tasks for the creation of system of “big data” and the joint structure of a secure digital economy, which define two inseparable issues that determine success in achieving the following goals, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said.

Namely, the formation of reliable physical support systems in individual countries and large regions, integration at the interregional level of support systems for Muslim countries, as well as the creation of samples of a single data register proposed by the Standing Committee on Science and Technology on the basis of centers of high-performance computer systems of the ICO member countries.

In this regard, Turkmenistan is ready to consider the possibilities of using its national factors to locate and ensure the functioning of such centers, the leader of the nation emphasized.

In conclusion, addressing the meeting participants and noting that the current Summit is a significant step in strengthening unity in the Muslim world for the sake of progress and prosperity of our states, the head of Turkmenistan wished everyone good health, and the peoples of the OIC member countries - peace, well-being and prosperity.

The speech of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov was listened to with deep interest, the State News Agency of Turkmenistan reports.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (until 2011, the Islamic Conference Organization (ICO) is considered the second largest structure after the UN. It was founded in 1969. Its headquarters are located in the city of Jeddah (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). Today, 57 states are members of the ICO. Turkmenistan has been a member of the ICO since 1992. A number of countries and large organizations have observer status, including the UN, ECO, Non-Aligned Movement, etc.

The first ICO summit on science and technologies was held in the capital of Kazakhstan in September 2017.