OIC meeting has busy global agenda

The meeting of foreign ministers of OIC member states is expected to define commissions' role, mission, members and means of operations, Kazinform refers to ARAB NEWS.

The ministers also are likely to announce rules for OIC observer member status, which would open the door to considering existing requests for such participation by a number of countries including Brazil, South Africa, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.

The new rules would also enable the organization to expand its network of relationships and partnerships with NGOs - particularly in the humanitarian field, in which the OIC has been very active operating in tsunami-stricken Indonesia, facilitating aid to Gaza and providing assistance to refugees in Yemen, Pakistan, Darfur, Somalia and Libya.

During the three-day meeting, sessions will take place on political stability in the aftermath of the Arab Spring as well as economic development in the Muslim world, OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu recently toured West African member states focusing on poverty eradication efforts and increasing intra-OIC trade and investment especially in agriculture. He will report his findings during the meetings.

There will also be a high-level meeting on the OIC action plan for cooperation with Central Asia. This plan aims to increase cooperation and coordination between Central Asian and other OIC member states in terms of economics research, health and culture.

Leading the list of political issues on the agenda will be the Palestinian bid for recognition by the United Nations General Assembly in September. Ihsanoglu also will detail his discussion with European leaders about the current situation in Libya. He met with Prime Minister David Cameron in the UK and several EU officials in Brussels, including European Council President Herman Von Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barosso. He also met with NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

Developments in Afghanistan also will be discussed. In March the OIC hosted the International Contact Group meeting on Afghanistan where Afghan and US envoys noted the positive contributions the organization is making.

A meeting highlight will be the announcement of a new name and logo for the organization that will reflect its new vision and mission since the adoption of the 10-Year Program of Action in 2005 and the new charter endorsed in Dakar in 2008.

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