Dr. A. F. M. Khalid Hossain, Advisor to Bangladesh’s Ministry of Religious Affairs, visited the COMSTECH Secretariat in Islamabad to discuss expanded educational and technical cooperation between Bangladesh and COMSTECH, reaffirming shared commitments to science and technology, halal certification, and greater unity across the Muslim world.
During his address, Dr. Khalid Hossain praised COMSTECH, the OIC Ministerial Standing Committee, for its work in promoting science, technology, artificial intelligence, environmental protection, climate change responses, and poverty reduction across member states. He noted the importance of COMSTECH’s initiatives in helping OIC countries build scientific and technical capacity.
Dr. Hossain welcomed the allocation of 100 scholarships for Bangladeshi students at the University of Lahore and thanked COMSTECH for the initiative, which he said will enable promising Bangladeshi students to pursue higher education in Pakistan. He urged that such opportunities be extended to students from madrassa backgrounds who possess strong foundations in Quran and Hadith studies, so they can also contribute to fields such as medicine, engineering, and technology.
Emphasizing the need for unity, Dr. Hossain called on Muslim countries to come together guided by Islamic principles, stating, “we must unite under the banner of Islam, under the guidance of the Quran and Hadith, for the greater interest of the Muslim Ummah. Without unity in diversity, we can not progress.”
Dr. Hossain also expressed interest in COMSTECH’s support for establishing a Halal Institute in Uganda. He reported that Bangladesh’s Islamic Foundation and other authorities are working on halal certification and exploring collaboration with Pakistan’s Halal Authority, and suggested that COMSTECH provide technical support and capacity-building for the relevant staff.
Ambassador of Bangladesh to Pakistan H.E. Md. Iqbal Hussain Khan thanked the COMSTECH Coordinator General and officials for their hospitality and reiterated Bangladesh’s commitment to deepen cooperation with COMSTECH to achieve mutual benefits and strengthen collaboration among OIC member states.
