Kazakh FM to participate in OIC’s Council of Foreign Ministers

NUR-SULTAN. KAZINFORM - Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, H.E. Mr. Mukhtar Tileuberdi has formally confirmed his participation in 48th meeting of OIC’s Council of Foreign Ministers to be held on 22-23 March in Islamabad, Kazinform cites the Embassy of Pakistan in Kazakhstan.

The OIC-CFM is coinciding with 75^th anniversary of Pakistan Independence Day celebrations. The participating Foreign Ministers in the OIC-CFM will be invited to attend the «Pakistan Day» parade as ‘guest of honour’.

As a founding member of the OIC, we believe that the best expression of solidifying Islamic solidarity is by further strengthening the Organization as the representative voice of over 1.5 billion Muslims across the world.

Pakistan has a proud history of hosting major OIC events including Summits and Council of Foreign Minister (CFM) meetings. We hosted the 2^nd 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 has also hosted the OIC CFMs on four occasions - 2« Session in December 1970, 11^th Session in May 1980, 21^st Session in April 1993 and the 34^th Session in May 2007. The 1» and the 17^th Extraordinary Sessions of the OIC CFM, were held in Islamabad, in January 1980 and December 2021, respectively.

It would be our distinct privilege to host the 48^th CFM, in Islamabad, on 22-23 March 2022 (after a hiatus of nearly 15 years). This Session will coincide with the 75^th anniversary celebrations of Pakistan's independence. We look forward to welcoming OIC Foreign Ministers to Pakistan on this 'special' occasion.

The rising tide of Islamophobia and hate speech threatens Muslim communities across many parts of the world. Millions of our Afghan brethren remain at the mercy of the elements and confront an uncertain future at the hands of hunger and disease. The deleterious impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is yet to be fully contained.

During our CFM Chair, Pakistan will sincerely endeavour to promote unity amongst Member States, advance the cause of justice for Islamic peoples, and to achieve the mutually reinforcing goals of prosperity and development for all OIC Member States. Ensuring full and complete recovery from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic also remains a key priority for us.

The proposed theme of the 48^th Session, «Partnering for Unity, Justice and Development» fully encapsulates these priorities. We will seek to build `partnerships' across the Islamic world, and build bridges of cooperation to address the myriad of challenges confronting the Ummah.

The range of issues before the 48^th Session is both broad-based and diverse. Our discussions would encapsulate matters of peace and security, economic development, cultural and scientific cooperation and revitalizing the role of the OIC etc. The over 100 resolutions adopted during the Session, will articulate the OIC perspective on major contemporary issues.

The Session will also provide an opportunity to take stock of, and review the decisions taken during the 17t^h Extraordinary Session, to alleviate the urgent humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

During our previous Chairmanship of the CFM in 2007-08, Pakistan led negotiations on the new OIC Charter — a manifestation of our conviction that the Organization must be kept attuned to the dynamic and fast-evolving needs of our times.

Pakistan will continue to work with other OIC Member States, towards harnessing our 'collective ambition' into 'concrete action', and to take tangible steps to further strengthen bonds of Islamic solidarity and cooperation.

We are confident that the 48 ^th CFM would prove to be a landmark session in our combined efforts to chart a joint Islamic way forward. On our part, Pakistan remains committed to support all efforts aimed at promoting unity, brotherhood and prosperity amongst the Muslim world.