Experts urge stronger collaboration in cybersecurity among OIC nations

Islamabad:The Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) hosted a two-day international workshop on the ‘Cybersecurity Landscape in OIC Countries: Issues and Prospects’ at its headquarters in Islamabad.

The workshop, which began on Tuesday, was jointly organized by COMSTECH and Huawei Technologies Pakistan Pvt. Ltd., focusing on addressing the critical challenges and opportunities in the realm of cybersecurity across the OIC member countries. The event attracted a distinguished lineup of cybersecurity experts from various OIC nations, including Fazlan Abdullah, Acting Head of the Pre-Emptive Technology & Services Division at Cybersecurity Malaysia; Fakhri Jafarov, Head of the Malware Research Laboratory, Azerbaijan Government CERT; Askar Dyussekeyev of KZ-CERT, Kazakhstan; Prof. brahim Sogukp nar, Professor of Cybersecurity at Gebze Technical University, Turkiye, and Zareefa S. Mustafa, Manager of the Cybersecurity Department at Nigeria’s National Information Technology Development Agency.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony, Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, Major General (r) Hafeez-ur- Rehman emphasised the importance of joint cyber security initiatives at the national and international levels. Highlighting the importance of promoting international cooperation and highlighting the commitment of Pakistan and PTA for a secure digital future.

In his address ,Prof. Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhary, Coordinator General of COMSTECH, proposed an OIC Ministerial conference on cyber security which will help all OIC countries to establish an experience sharing platform to build a good defence system for Cyber space which will benefit all OIC countries and other part of the world while sharing Sharing various ongoing and future initiatives of COMSTECH, he also announced to organize two global cyber security forums in Central Asia and Africa in collaboration with Huawei and OIC-CERT, focusing on capacity building and fostering Linkages

This workshop marks a significant milestone towards securing a safer digital future for OIC member countries as they unite to address the ever-evolving challenges of cybersecurity in a rapidly digitalizing world.