The closing ceremony of the "Model Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) - International Relations Academy" project, which has been successfully implemented for over a decade by the Eurasian Regional Center of the Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICYF-ERC), has been held in the Park Inn Hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The event was attended by the representatives of government agencies, members of parliament, as well as ambassadors of the OIC member states, the media and NGOs. A short introductory video about the activities of Model OIC was shown. The first speaker, Vusal Gurbanov, Acting Director General of ICYF-ERC, spoke about the main goals and objectives of the project, which has more than a thousand alumni and noted the growing interest in Model OIC in recent years. Vusal Gurbanov also mentioned how the project – which got around 600 applications – is being successfully implemented in more than 30 OIC member states.

In his speech, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan Elnur Mammadov spoke about Azerbaijan-OIC relations, in particular, the successes of Azerbaijan's foreign policy at the 48th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of OIC in March this year. He also expressed hope that the "Model OIC" project will be of great value in helping youth on their way to becoming a diplomat, and praised the work done by ICYF-ERC aimed at enhancing the knowledge and skills of youth.

In her speech, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Azerbaijan Indira Hajiyeva spoke about the importance of the Ministry’s support for Model OIC as the partner of the project, the role of non-formal education in youth development, and noted that in the future the Ministry will be in tight collaboration with ICYF-ERC in implementing initiatives under the Ministry’s youth policy.

Speaking on behalf of the diplomatic corps, Ambassador of the State of Palestine to the Republic of Azerbaijan Nasser Abdul Kareem noted that he was honoured to be one of the lecturers in this project for many years, calling it a "successful platform for Azerbaijani youth". He called on the youth to be open to creative ideas and critical thinking.

Then, the finalists of the simulation conference, which was held on May 15, 2022, were awarded by the representatives of the OIC embassies accredited in Azerbaijan. At the simulation conference, the debates were held on protracted disputes in the OIC arena and resolutions were adopted that represented the participants' ways of solving such real-world disputes.

The main objectives of the Model OIC project, jointly organized by ICYF-ERC and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Azerbaijan and supported by Baku State University, are to support strengthening international youth cooperation in the OIC region and to enhance the knowledge and skills of youth in diplomacy, management and communications. In addition to attending the lectures for two months, the participants also visited the embassies of the OIC member states in Azerbaijan to increase their knowledge and skills.

Over the past years, Azerbaijani students have repeatedly worthily represented Azerbaijan at the "International Model OIC" conferences, which cover the entire OIC region and are usually attended by representatives of more than 40 member states.

“Model OIC – International Relations Academy” has already started its work in other countries, and in the near future it is planned to complete this project in all OIC countries.