ISLAMABAD: The Council of the Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will meet Tuesday at the inaugural session of the 48th session being hosted by Pakistan.
Prime Minister Imran Khan in his keynote address at the inaugural session will highlight Pakistan’s role and contribution towards OIC and deliberate on the challenges faced by the Muslim world.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will deliver a statement on the occasion and after the election of bureau members, the OIC chair will be handed over to Pakistan. Foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, Secretary-General OIC Hissein Brahim Taha, President Islamic Development Bank Dr Muhammad Suleiman Al-Jasser, Chinese State Councilor, and foreign minister Wangi Yi will address the session.
The video message of Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres will be shown on the occasion. The theme of the session is ‘Building Partnerships for Unity, Justice, and Development,’ which will be held at the Parliament House. More than 100 resolutions will be considered during the two-day session.
The session coincides with the 75th-anniversary celebrations of Pakistan’s independence. On March 23, the visiting foreign ministers will visit the Pakistan Day parade venue and witness the professional capability of Pakistan’s armed forces and the traditional floats of all the provinces, reflecting the national unity.
Later in the day, Foreign Minister Qureshi along with OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha will hold a joint press stakeout following the conclusion of the session. The summit will also discuss developments in Afghanistan and its humanitarian consequences for the Afghan people and the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, it added.
Many African issues will also be on the summit’s agenda, including the situation in Mali, the Sahel region, and Lake Chad, and the situation in Central Africa and the Republic of Guinea. The OIC foreign ministers will also discuss developments in Yemen, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, and other regions during the summit.
Pakistan has a proud history of hosting major OIC events including Summits and Council of Foreign Minister (CFM) meetings. The country hosted the 2nd OIC Summit in Lahore, in February 1974. An Extraordinary OIC Summit was held in Islamabad in 1997, on the occasion of Pakistan’s Golden Jubilee.
Pakistan also hosted the OIC CFMs on four occasions – the 2nd Session in December 1970, the 11th Session in May 1980, 21st Session in April 1993 and the 34th Session in May 2007. The 1st and the 17th Extraordinary Sessions of the OIC CFM were held in Islamabad, in January 1980 and December 2021, respectively.
