The First Summit on Science and Technology of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has kicked off in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the Summit.

President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev greeted President Ilham Aliyev and other heads of state and government.

The Summit participants posed together for photographs.

An initiative of President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, the First OIC Summit on Science and Technology is attended by heads of state and government, ministers responsible for science and technology from 57 countries, and nearly 80 delegates from observer countries and international organizations.

The Summit opened with the recitation of verses from the Quran.

Addressing the opening session, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev expressed his confidence that the Summit will give impetus to cooperation in the Islamic world.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain, President of Mauritania Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirzioyev, President of Guinea Alpha Condé, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Rouhani, Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Yousef Al-Othaimeen addressed the event.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev made a speech at the Summit.

*  *  *

Other speakers included President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani, President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain, President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh Abdul Hamid, Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia Jusuf Kalla, Vice-President of the Comoros Abdallah Said Sarouma, Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bakir Izetbegovic, President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro, and Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Khalid Abdulaziz Al-Falih.

*  *  *

The Summit aims to identify priorities, goals and targets for the advancement and promotion of science, technology and innovation in the OIC Member States.

The Summit, which is the first ever meeting of heads of state and government devoted exclusively to science and technology, will set the stage for shaping the future of science and technology agenda, reaffirm the commitment of the leadership to science and technology at the highest level and identify priorities, targets and recommended actions for the Muslim countries in the field of science and technology for the next decade.

AZERTAC