H.E. Prof. Koutoub Moustapha Sano, Secretary General of the Academy, chaired the 119th weekly meeting of the Directors of Departments, on Thursday 13 Rajab 1445 corresponding to 25 January 2024, at the Secretariat General’s headquarters in Jeddah.

At the outset of the meeting, His Excellency welcomed all attendees and shared details of his recent visit to the State of Qatar. During the visit, he met with H.E. Mr. Ghanim bin Shaheen Al-Ghanim, Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs in Qatar. They discussed preparations for the twenty-sixth session of the Assembly Conference, scheduled to take place in Doha in November 2024. His Excellency expressed his appreciation to Qatar for their warm welcome and hospitality during the visit.

His Excellency also highlighted the signing of a cooperation agreement with Tasbil Endowments Development Company, aimed at enhancing cooperation with leading Islamic institutions involved in charitable works and resource development for the Waqf Fund.

The meeting reviewed previous meeting’s decisions and, and new decisions were issued, namely:

• Sending a letter of appreciation to the Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs of Qatar and to H.E. Sheikh Dr. Thaqeel bin Zaid Al-Shammari, Qatar’s representative to the Academy.
• Corresponding with the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Saudi Delegation regarding the cultured meat symposium, in cooperation with the Saudi Food and Drug Authority in Saudi Arabia.
• Requesting the Islamic Organization for Medical Sciences in Kuwait to suggest to the Academy important scientific themes related to artificial intelligence, to be discussed during the next session.