Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 20/08/2008
Istanbul – Republic of Turkey 18 – 20 August 2008 Your Excellency Abdullah Gul President of the Republic of Turkey, Your Excellencies Honoroble Heads of States and Governments and Ministers Ladies and Gentlemen, I feel privileged and honoured to take part in this historic event when so many African leaders and heads of African organizations have come together in the historic city of Istanbul which brought continents and civilizations together for centuries. I sincerely hope that this meeting will open new avenues for all in so many different areas. It is certainly a historic gathering for both Turkey and Africa. Taking this opportunity, I would like to congratulate Their Excellencies President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Babacan for their vision to follow a vigorous plan to bring Turkey closer to Africa in every field through many actions including organization of this meeting. As a prominent member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference spearheading many OIC initiatives, the strategy pursued by Turkey towards opening up to Africa is completely in line with the vision and policies of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Actually, Turkey is setting a remarkable example for the other OIC member states to follow. Organization of the Islamic Conference has 57 member states and almost half of these countries are in the African continent. We regard the issues of Africa as our own and consider its future as our own. Our Summit Chairman for the next three years is Senegal while the OIC Council of Ministers is being chaired by Uganda for duration of one year. Thus, it would be fair to say that presently OIC is run by Africa. Not only this, but also the new vision of the Organization which is epitomized in the new Charter adopted in the Dakar Summit this March, and Ten Year Program of Action adopted in the Extraordinary OIC Summit held in Makkah Al Mukarramah in December 2005, make it incumbent upon the OIC and all its institutions to give special focus to issues related to Africa. The new vision envisages OIC as an active partner of the international community in the preservation and maintenance of peace and security and aims at transforming the Organization into an agent of change in the socio-economic development. Considering that most of the least developed member states of the OIC are in Africa and many conflicts that the Organization is trying to deal with involve our African member states, OIC should be seen as a natural and willing partner in all issues related to conflict resolution, post-conflict rehabilitation, upholding good-governance, democracy, human rights, poverty alleviation, capacity building for sustainable development and promotion of culture of peace and dialogue in Africa. Therefore it should not be seen surprising that His Excellency President Wade`s first initiative as the OIC Summit Chairman targeted at reconciling OIC`s two brotherly African countries, Chad and Sudan. The OIC is presently an active member of the Contact Group in charge of implementing the Dakar Agreement between Sudan and Chad. The new vision has also led us towards persistent engagement in the peace efforts in Somalia and in other hot spots in Africa. OIC Poverty Alleviation Fund which has been established according to the mandate of the Ten Year Program of Action under the title of Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD) with a targeted capital of 10 billion US dollars, the Special Fund for the Development of Africa (SPDA), actual and projected special development and humanitarian programs for Niger, Sierra Leone, Darfur and Somalia, OIC Five Year Cotton Action Plan, proposed Forum on Food Industry in Africa to be held in Mali, important initiative taken by holding the first meeting of the Committee for implementing Dakar-Port Sudan Railways line, our cooperation with World Health Organization to combat Polio, HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other endemic diseases in Africa, existence of two OIC universities in Uganda and Niger, are all pertinent examples of how Africa benefits from the programs and initiatives of the OIC institutions. Taking this opportunity, I would like to highlight the vital importance of forging a real partnership and creating synergy between the OIC and the African Union towards solving the issues of Africa. In this regard, we highly value and appreciate the commitment of our dear friend His Excellency Jean Ping and expect the support of all the African Union and OIC member states. I sincerely believe that there are many issues which require forging a real partnership between the OIC and the African Union. Before concluding I would like to reiterate our unwavering stance in favour of democracy, rule of law, human rights and good governance. This Lack of commitment on any of them will deprive our people from bright futures and will lead to wasting of resources and efforts. I greet all of you with respect and thank you for your attention.
