ID :
165494
Thu, 03/03/2011 - 08:07
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/165494
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International Contact Group for Afghanistan to meet in Jeddah March 3
NEW YORK, March 3 (Itar-Tass) -- The International Contact Group on Afghanistan will convene its next meeting at the headquarters of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday, March 3, 2011.
The Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, Zalmay Rasul will lead his
country's delegation to the meeting, which will be the first international activity to be attended by the American Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Marc Grossman who replaced the former envoy Richard Holbrooke who died earlier.
The OIC Secretary General, Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu will deliver a speech at the opening session of the meeting in which he will emphasise the increasing role of the OIC in Afghanistan in light of the opening of an OIC Office in the Afghan capital, Kabul, and also in light of the appointment of Ambassador Munir ul-Zaman as a Special Envoy of the OIC Secretary General to Afghanistan.
About 120 participants representing 50 countries and international
organisations, including the United Nations and the European Union, will take part in the meeting. Invitations have been sent to the Foreign Ministers of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and other OIC member states since other countries had participated in the International Contact Group Meeting that was held in Rome last October.
It is expected that the meeting will discuss a number of political
issues relating to the settlement process being prepared in Afghanistan.
It will also discuss various aspects of the civilian transition, the
processes of reconstruction and integration, as well as the regional
dimensions of the Afghan question.
The one-day long meeting will also discuss issues pertaining to
elections and corruption in the ongoing political process in Kabul. The United Nations Envoy to Afghanistan, Engin Soysal, is expected to present an intervention during the meeting.
The convening of the International Contact Group Meeting in Jeddah is of special importance especially with the beginning of the transfer of security responsibility to the Afghan forces, which is expected to be completed within by 2014, an OIC press release said.
A meeting held in Jeddah last January involved the President of the Contact Group, Michael Steiner, and senior officials in the OIC General Secretariat who discussed preparations for the convening of the International Contact Group meeting.
According to current plans, the United States and NATO intend to
withdraw their combat units from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
The Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, Zalmay Rasul will lead his
country's delegation to the meeting, which will be the first international activity to be attended by the American Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Marc Grossman who replaced the former envoy Richard Holbrooke who died earlier.
The OIC Secretary General, Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu will deliver a speech at the opening session of the meeting in which he will emphasise the increasing role of the OIC in Afghanistan in light of the opening of an OIC Office in the Afghan capital, Kabul, and also in light of the appointment of Ambassador Munir ul-Zaman as a Special Envoy of the OIC Secretary General to Afghanistan.
About 120 participants representing 50 countries and international
organisations, including the United Nations and the European Union, will take part in the meeting. Invitations have been sent to the Foreign Ministers of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and other OIC member states since other countries had participated in the International Contact Group Meeting that was held in Rome last October.
It is expected that the meeting will discuss a number of political
issues relating to the settlement process being prepared in Afghanistan.
It will also discuss various aspects of the civilian transition, the
processes of reconstruction and integration, as well as the regional
dimensions of the Afghan question.
The one-day long meeting will also discuss issues pertaining to
elections and corruption in the ongoing political process in Kabul. The United Nations Envoy to Afghanistan, Engin Soysal, is expected to present an intervention during the meeting.
The convening of the International Contact Group Meeting in Jeddah is of special importance especially with the beginning of the transfer of security responsibility to the Afghan forces, which is expected to be completed within by 2014, an OIC press release said.
A meeting held in Jeddah last January involved the President of the Contact Group, Michael Steiner, and senior officials in the OIC General Secretariat who discussed preparations for the convening of the International Contact Group meeting.
According to current plans, the United States and NATO intend to
withdraw their combat units from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
