OIC Secretary General Calls on Member States to Extend Support to the ISF

Date: 25/12/2018

The OIC General Secretariat in Jeddah hosted a meeting of the Permanent Council of the Islamic Solidarity Fund (ISF) in its sixty third session on December 24, 2018, at which a statement was delivered on behalf of the Secretary General, Dr. Yousef Al Othaimeen, by Ambassador Samir Bakr, Assistant Secretary General for Palestine and AlQuds.

In his statement, the Secretary General noted that the Islamic Solidarity Fund (ISF) has on its record 2726 projects which it has financed all across the world to an aggregate amount in excess of 232 million US dollars, since its establishment and up to this day.

The Secretary General’s statement laid stress on the fact that the ISF has given ample proof of its efficiency through its multiple humanitarian services in support of the needy among Muslims. However, it continues to lack adequate resources to do more in responding to the needs of the Islamic Ummah, particularly with the multiple challenges besetting it due to wars and natural disasters and the consequent sufferings of the refugees and displaced. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the Member States to increase their voluntary donations to the ISF’s project-oriented budgets.

On another front, the Secretary General urged the ISF to support the Palestinian cause and try and meet the recurrent appeals for greater efforts to safeguard the Holy City of AlQuds, to preserve its Arabo-Islamic identity and to enable its national institutions to continue extending their basic services for the city’s steadfast inhabitants. The Fund, he noted, had on its record an accumulation of significant and well appreciated achievements, in favor of the State of Palestine in general and in favor of AlQuds City in particular, through its contributions towards the development of education, healthcare, social services and youth programs and the promotion of other vital sectors that have been of positive impact for the Palestinian citizens.

On his part, Ambassador Nasser Bin Abdullah Bin Hamdan Al Zuabi, chairman of the ISF said that the ISF’s total project funding reached about 27 million US dollars, with still more health and educational projects underway in support of the Palestinian resilience against the brutality of the Israeli aggressions.

Al Zuabi noted that the ISF had participated in many meetings and activities, underlining the need to avail it of the necessary resources. He appealed to the Member States to provide their support, in accordance with their respective capacities. Al Zuabi also expressed his profound thanks to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for their consistent support to the Fund’s efforts.

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