SESRIC participated in the 5^th Meeting of the Steering Committee for the OIC STI Agenda 2026, which was organised by the OIC Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) and held at its Headquarters in Islamabad, Pakistan in a physical format on 24-25 March 2022. H.E. Mr. Nebil DABUR, Director General of SESRIC; Mr. Fadi FARASIN, Assistant Director General; Dr. Atilla KARAMAN, Director of Statistics and Information Department; and Mr. Mazhar HUSSAIN, Director of Economic and Social Research Department represented the Centre thereat.

The member institutions of the Committee reviewed and discussed joint initiatives, programmes and activities to be implemented in the domain of science, technology and innovation. They also discussed the possibility of developing mechanisms of joint efforts with the aim of supporting and contributing to the efforts of the member countries towards achieving the recommendations and goals identified in the OIC STI Agenda 2026 as well as the resolutions of the 2^nd OIC Summit on Science and Technology. They also elaborated on and evaluated some initiative and proposals, including the assessment of progress made by member states in implementing the OIC STI Agenda 2026, and the proposed 5-year PoA for the advancement of science and technology in African member states.

H.E. Mr. Nebil DABUR, Director General of SESRIC, briefed the participants on the current situation of the OIC Member Countries towards the implementation of the OIC STI Agenda 2026 based on the SESRIC study updated in March 2022. In his brief, he stated that since the OIC STI Agenda 2026 has an aspirational structure with few quantitative recommendations and targets, the statistical evaluation of SESRIC used the most relevant statistical indicators with most recent available data that can be mapped to assess the progress made by the member countries towards the achievement of the stipulated recommendations and goals in the OIC STI Agenda 2026. H.E. Mr. Nebil DABUR further noted that the achievement of OIC STI Agenda 2026 is expected to become more challenging with the current COVID-19 pandemic. He stated that the SESRIC study should be considered as a call for action to encourage and enhance the joint efforts to ensure the achievement of OIC STI 2026 Agenda. Following his brief, a detailed presentation on the progress of the OIC member countries concerning the 12 priorities of the OIC STI Agenda 2026 was made by SESRIC.

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