OIC Chief Addresses 10th US-Islamic World Forum in Doha

Doha, June 09 (QNA) - The US-Islamic World Forum has indeed become an invaluable platform for engagement between Arab and American leaders and civil society, said the Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu. The OIC Secretary General Ihsanoglu, who was addressing the opening session of the 10th edition of the US-Islamic World Forum at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, said the OIC should continue to play a key role in that regard. He said that the Palestinian issue remains at the heart of the most pressing concerns of the OIC and the international community. "For more than 60 years the Palestinian people's aspirations to realize their legitimate rights to freedom, sovereignty, and self-determination in their own independent state and in their own homeland have been unrealized. Ihsanoglu stressed that the recent General Assembly's recognition of Palestine as a non-member observer state constitutes a timely and crucial opportunity to give renewed momentum to the currently deadlocked peace process. Meanwhile, the Secretary General said the OIC is committed to promote and consolidate global peace, stability, harmony, security and development. Since he came into office in 2005, he has worked hard to develop strong partnerships with the US, which resulted in the appointment of the first US Special Envoy to the OIC in 2008, a visit by former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to OIC Headquarters in 2010 and his meeting with the US President the following year as the first OIC Secretary General to be invited to the White House. Ihsanoglu pointed out that there are many examples of successful OIC-US cooperation, which are symbolized in the joint efforts to eradicate polio, promote maternal health, encourage youth entrepreneurship, develop greater opportunities for women in education and science, as well as efforts to counter radical extremism and other international security issues. (QNA)