ICESCO and Morocco sign agreement on AI and digital capacity building

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ICESCO) and Morocco’s Ministry of Digital Transition and Administrative Reform have signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in digital transformation, AI and strategic foresight. The agreement was signed in Rabat on the sidelines of the African Open Government Conference by ICESCO Director-General Dr Salim M. AlMalik and Dr Amal El Fallah, Minister Delegate to the Head of Government in charge of Digital Transition and Administrative Reform of Morocco. The memorandum provides for workshops, training programmes and joint seminars aimed at building capacity among public and private sector professionals in digital transformation, AI, strategic foresight and digital diplomacy. It also covers the exchange of expertise and open data, the preparation of reference materials, and research related to future skills and professions in ICESCO member states. The agreement further includes cooperation with universities and research centres to support a knowledge ecosystem aligned with the requirements of the digital economy. It also refers to innovation laboratories and digital tools for the digitisation, indexing, research and analysis of cultural and scientific heritage materials. The agreement places AI within a broader capacity-building agenda that includes public-sector skills, digital diplomacy, open data, foresight and heritage digitisation. Also, the policy relevance lies in how international organisations and national governments are using AI cooperation not only for technology adoption, but also for institutional readiness and future skills development across member states.