DUSHANBE, March 14, Asia-Plus — The 11th summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) that opened in Dakar, Senegal on March 13 is expected to result in adoption of 20 cooperation documents. Presidential press service said.
The summit started with Malaysia handing over the presidency of the 57-member organization to Senegal”s President Abdoulaye Wade, the host of the meeting.
Conflict in Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan”s Darfur region, Somalia and the Palestinian territories, have all been key talking points in the buildup to the summit where Iran”s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will also to make a speech.
The OIC summit also seeks to focus on reforms to the organization in a bid to modernize affiliated institutions, its campaign against ”Islamophobia”.
The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) is the second largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations which has membership of 57 states spread over four continents. The Organization is the collective voice of the Muslim world and ensuring to safeguard and project the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the world. The Organization was established upon a decision of the historical summit which took place in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco on September 25, 1969 as a result of criminal arson of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem.
In 1970 the first ever meeting of Islamic Conference of Foreign Minister (ICFM) was held in Jeddah which decided to establish a permanent secretariat in Jeddah headed by the organization’s secretary general. Prof Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu is the 9th Secretary General who assumed the office in January 2005 after being elected by the 31st ICFM.
The Charter of the Organization was adopted by the Third ICFM in 1972 which laid down the objectives and principles of the organization and fundamental purposes to strengthen the solidarity and cooperation among the member states. Over the last 38 years, the membership has grown from its founding members of 30 to 57 states.
