ISLAMABAD – The 48th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of theOrganization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) began in the federal capital ofPakistan on Tuesday.
Representatives of over 50 Islamic countries and China are attending theconference that is being held under the them of ‘Partnering for Unity,Justice and Development’ at the Parliament House.
Speaking on the occasion after the OIC chair was handed to Pakistan,Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi welcomed the foreign delegations tothe conference.
“The OIC is the collective voice of nearly two billion Muslims. It is thebridge among the Muslim nations and between the Muslim world and theinternational community,” he said.
Qureshi emphasized on jointly addressing the challenges and conflictswithin the Ummah and uniting for justice for the rights of Muslims underoccupation and conflicts with countries beyond our Ummah. He added thisshould also include the urgency of addressing the pervasive Islamophobiafacing Muslims in non-Muslim majority countries, Radio Pakistan reported.
He also underlined partnering for development by effectively addressing thetriple global crises of COVID-19, development, and climate change.
The foreign minister said Muslims of Palestine and the Indian IllegallyOccupied Jammu and Kashmir are still reeling under abominable subjugation.For the last seven decades, they have struggled to achieve theirinalienable right to self-determination. He called for the permanentsolutions to the Palestine and Kashmir issues.
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Talking about situation in Afghanistan, he said addressing the humanitariancrisis in Afghanistan and preventing a collapse of the Afghan economy mustremain our top priorities. He said we must also encourage and support theefforts of the Afghan authorities to eliminate DAISH and other terroristgroups like TTP, ETIM, IMU, and Al-Qaida.
Saudi Arabia Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, OIC Secretary-GeneralHissein Brahim Taha, Islamic Development Bank President Muhammad SuleimanAl-Jasser, Chinese State Councilor and Chinese State Councilor and ForeignMinister Wangi Yi also addressed the session.
Around 140 resolutions will be passed during the session.
Senior officials from non-OIC countries, senior representatives from theUnited Nations, regional and international organisations, including theArab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council, are also attending the moot.
