OIC

JEDDAH: Raja Ali Ejaz, ambassador and permanent representative of Pakistan to the OIC called on the Secretary General of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Wednesday at the OIC Headquarters in Jeddah.

Before this, the President of Azad Jammu Kashmir regularly attended and addressed the OIC Annual Coordination Meeting for the Foreign Ministers and Contact Group Meetings on Jammu and Kashmir, but this was the first time that a representative of the people of Jammu and Kashmir has been invited to the OIC Summit.

According to a statement by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media and Publicity), the President, who read the collective statement of African countries at the 14th Summit of the OIC in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, commended the robust interventions of the Islamic Development Bank, IDB, in key sectors such as agriculture, trade and investment.

Qureshi was leading Pakistan's delegation in the meeting of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) in Jeddah, a precursor to the 14th Islamic Summit Conference due to be held in Makkah.

The talks were aimed at reviewing OIC Reforms agenda and presenting one's own stance on further re-activating OIC.

OIC should come forward as true representative organization for sorting out problems facing Muslim Ummah.

Qureshi, who is in Saudi Arabia to participate in the ministerial meeting of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) left for Jeddah after Umrah where he will meet various Foreign Ministers and members of the OIC.

The year 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of OIC. Founded in 1969, OIC is the second largest multilateral organisation after the UN, encompassing a quarter of the humanity and a cumulative GDP of US$19.4 trillion.

The trilateral talks were held on the sidelines of the ongoing meeting of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in Jeddah on Thursday.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is in Saudi Arabia to attend the meeting of Foreign Ministers' Council of OIC.

'The OIC session is very important to discuss the Middle East conflict and also the proposed Peace Plan to diffuse the situation,' Qureshi told reporters here prior to his departure for Jeddah to participate in the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers' meeting, preceding the summit-level meeting.