ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is hosting a special session of the Organization of Islamic Corporation today, Sunday, to rally Muslim and other countries to help Afghanistan stave off an economic and humanitarian disaster, with participation by top leaders around the world, including the foreign minister for Saudi Arabia, Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al-Saud.
The 17th Extraordinary Session of the OIC’s Council of Foreign Ministers, called by Saudi Arabia, will be held at the Parliament House in Islamabad, with the keynote address delivered by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.
“Around 70 delegations from OIC member states, non-members and regional and international organizations are attending,” the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement on Sunday. “It includes around 20 delegations led at the Ministerial and 10 at the Deputy-Minister/Minister of State level.”
Pariticipants of the 17th Extraordinary Session of the OIC’s Council of Foreign Ministers meeting pose for a picture in Islamambad, Pakistan, on December 19, 2021. (Photo courtesy: APP)
The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Tukey, Azerbaijan, Iran, Oman, Kuwait, Indonesia and Malaysia arrived at the Parliament House on Saturday morning for the summit and were personally welcomed by Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is personally welcoming the guests.
The meeting’s focus is on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan where the United Nations is warning nearly 23 million people — about 55 percent of the population — face extreme levels of hunger, with nearly 9 million at risk of famine as winter takes hold in the impoverished, landlocked country.
Other than foreign ministers from Islamic countries, delegations from the European Union and the P5+1 group of the UN Security Council, including the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany, are also invited.
“We have succeeded even before the OIC meeting,” Qureshi said in comments from Parliament released by the foreign office. “Our voice has reached the world .. We have succeeded in making the United States, the European Union and others aware of the situation in Afghanistan.”
There have been growing warnings of the humanitarian crisis facing Afghanistan since international aid was abruptly cut following the Taliban takeover on August 15 and fears of disaster if the situation is not brought under control.
However, getting help in has been hindered by sanctions on dealing with the Taliban, the US decision to freeze billions of dollars of central bank reserves held outside Afghanistan and the collapse of much of the country’s banking system.
Sunday’s session will be kicked off with a statement by Qureshi who will chair the extraordinary session, followed by a statement by the foreign minister for Saudi Arabia.
There will also be statements by Hissein Brahim Taha, secretary general of the OIC, the president of the Islamic Development Bank, Dr. Muhammad Al-Jasser and statements on behalf of the OIC regional groups for Asia, Africa, and Arab states.
