Pakistan invites OIC foreign ministers to annual meeting in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday invited the foreign ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to attend a Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) meeting to be hosted by Islamabad next month.  
The OIC is the second-largest intergovernmental organization in the world after the UN. It consists of 57 Muslim member states spread across four continents. The OIC is considered the collective voice of Muslim countries around the world and aims to promote the interests of its member states.  
The CFM is an annual event held to adopt decisions and policies of the OIC by member states. It also reviews implementation or progress made on the decisions that were taken during previous summits.  
OIC foreign ministers were last in Islamabad in December for the 17th Extraordinary Session of the OIC's Council of Foreign Ministers. The session, called by Saudi Arabia, was focused on the economic crisis in Afghanistan.
“I am here at the OIC Expo 2020 Pavilion in Dubai and I have come here to invite my colleagues and friends, foreign ministers of the OIC member states, to visit us in Islamabad on the 22nd and 23rd of March for the 48th session of the CFM,” FM Qureshi said in a video message.  
“The people of Pakistan are looking forward to your visit and are anxious to receive you. Welcome to Islamabad.”
Qureshi had last month announced that Pakistan would host the 48th session of the CFM in Islamabad where the foreign ministers of Muslim member states would be invited to witness the military parade on March 23, held each year to mark Pakistan Day.