Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 13/06/2023
The 6th Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) of the OIC- EU was held on 13 June 2023 in Brussels.
The meeting was organised in the framework of the MoU signed in 2015 between the two sides.
The OIC Delegation was led by Ambassador Yousef Al-Dobeay, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs and included senior officials from the General Secretariat and OIC Observer Mission in Brussels.
The EU Delegation was headed by Mr. Carl Hellagard, Deputy Managing Director for the Middle East North Africa at the EEAS.
Ms. Helene Le Gal, Managing Director for MENA welcomed the OIC Delegation to the EEAS premises.
The two sides exchanged views on a wide range of issues of mutual concern including the situation in the Middle East and the Palestinian question, Afghanistan, Horn of Africa, Sudan, Somalia, the Sahel Region and Rohingya issue.
The meeting also discussed possible cooperation in areas such as culture, promotion of freedom of religion and belief, address Islamophobia , empowerment of women and humanitarian affairs.
The day-long meeting highlighted the mutual desire for more political cooperation and coordination between the two organizations in multilateral fora, including in the UN, particularly in areas of mutual interest.
Both sides explored prospects for strengthening cooperation in a number of areas and decided to hold the 7th SOM in Jeddah next year.
