OIC ‘Bound to benefit from Kazakhstan’s dynamic political weight’ - SG
The gathering has ended with the adoption of several dozen draft resolutions to be considered in Astana, including support for Kazakhstan's efforts to facilitate better coordination between the OIC and the OSCE and regional coordination in the fight against illicit drug-trafficking from Afghanistan.
The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Kazakhstan that in a little more than a month, following Astana Ministerial on 28-30 June, will assume presidency of the second largest intergovernmental organisation after the United Nations, which has a membership of 57 states spread across four continents. Deputy Foreign Minister Kairat Umarov led the Kazakh delegation, the press service of the Kazakh MFA reports.
Opening the meeting, OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu welcomed all the participants and stressed Kazakhstan's chairmanship will have a positive impact on the activity of the Organisation.
"Today we wish also to address our thanks and gratitude to the Republic of Kazakhstan for its generous offer to host the 38th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers. We are all bound to benefit from Kazakhstan's dynamic political weight and from its well-known energetic activities at the international and diplomatic levels such as to consolidate our Joint Islamic Action," he said.
"We therefore anticipate that our present ministerial session will be a distinctive one, with a positive impact on the progress of our action and an instrumental effect in bolstering our efforts in support of our issues and in favour of our Ummah's prosperity," the OIC Secretary General underscored.
Ihsanoglu also noted Astana has already made its significant contribution to strengthening of the respect for the Organisation inasmuch as during Kazakhstan's 2010 chairmanship in the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) the OIC was provided an opportunity to enhance and deepen the practical essence of interaction with another major regional group of the world.
"For the first time in the history of the Organisation, the OIC was able to address the OSCE Summit in Astana and the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna. We agreed to intensify the existing cooperation through increased interaction and consultations on issues of mutual interest, such as democratization, human rights and election monitoring," Ishanoglu's report reads.
During the meeting in Jeddah, the delegations exchanged their views on a wide range of political issues representing mutual interest to the OIC member countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and South America.
The diplomats reviewed cooperation in such areas as fight against terrorism, defamation of religions, disarmament processes, protection of human rights in Muslim countries, disaster management, settlement of conflicts in the OIC-region, as well as the implementation of the OIC ten-year action programme adopted at the Mecca Summit of the Organization in December 2005.
Following animated discussions, the participants approved draft resolutions dealing with political, legal, information, and administrative concerns of the Organization. The final decision on the agreed draft resolutions will be taken after the foreign ministers of the OIC member states meet in Astana.
Delegations in Jeddah also supported two draft resolutions sponsored by the Kazakh side. The first relates to coordination of international efforts to combat drug trafficking from Afghanistan, while the second deals with the need for further expansion of meaningful contacts of the OIC with the OSCE and other international organizations.
A month earlier, during the meeting of the Islamic Commission for Economic, Cultural and Social Affairs (ICECS) Kazakhstan initiated the adoption of a draft resolution destined to urge international community to constantly increase the assistance to overcome the consequences of environmental disasters in the Aral Sea and the former Semipalatinsk nuclear test site.
The three-day meeting demonstrated an optimism of the OIC member states regarding the upcoming Council of Foreign Ministers in Astana, where member states of the Organisation will get a chance to consolidate the existing positive trends in the development of the OIC and make meaningful decisions to enhance and realize its potential in solving practical problems of the OIC nations.