OIC to participate in Shanghai forum on Afghanistan

ANKARA. March 25. KAZINFORM The head of the world's largest Muslim group, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), will participate in a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on the situation in Afghanistan, scheduled to be held in Moscow on March 27.

OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Эhsanoрlu will deliver a speech at the meeting, the OIC has announced in a written statement. On the sidelines of the meeting, the OIC chief will also have talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The Russian Federation, an observer of the OIC that recently adopted a policy of rapprochement with Islamic countries, has made the OIC the focus of this rapprochement and appointed a permanent representative to the organization in Jeddah, the statement noted. Turkey, a NATO member, is also invited to the same meeting in Moscow. Foreign Minister Ali Babacan is expected to represent Ankara at the meeting. The meeting will discuss the "situation in Afghanistan and its influence on neighboring states, boosting joint efforts by the international community to counteract terrorism, the illegal drug trade and trans-border organized crime from Afghan territory," the Russian Foreign Ministry said last month. The SCO regional security group is made up of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Russia took over the presidency of the organization last August. Iran, India, Mongolia and Pakistan have observer status. The meeting in Moscow will come only days before a key NATO summit on April 3-4, when the heads of state from NATO member nations will discuss the issue of committing more forces to Afghanistan, Kazinform refers to Today's Zaman.