Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 19/12/2010
The Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, received in the headquarters of the General Secretariat in Jeddah on Saturday 18 December 2010, the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China Mr. Zhai Jun, who came at the head of the first high-level Chinese delegation visiting the OIC General Secretariat.
The visit of the Chinese delegation comes following a previous visit paid the Secretary General to China last June, which was described by observers as ‘historical’ as it was the first visit of an OIC Secretary General to China since the OIC’s establishment forty years ago and given that most of OIC’s 57 Member States have excellent relations with the People’s Republic of China. The visit is intended to vitalize the relations of the OIC, whose Member States have a total population of over 1.5 Billion people, with China which has a population of 1.3 billion people; both of which account for about half the world population. In addition, the two parties’ joint relations are based on an interrelated history between the two civilizations and on uninterrupted cooperation throughout history.
It was agreed during the visit to promote relations between the People’s Republic of China and the Islamic world, represented by the OIC. The two parties welcomed the establishment of a communication mechanism for political consultation on the problems facing them, hampering cooperation and impeding mutual understanding.
The visit was an opportunity to obtain further information on the situation of Muslims in China. The Secretary General pointed to his previous visit to the regions of Xinjiang and Ningxia and applauded the development programmes aimed at raising the standard of living of the Muslim population. The two parties agreed that many actions are still to be taken in different fields.
On another vein, the two parties discussed important political issues, mainly the issue of the Middle East and the Palestinian cause which represents the central issue in the Middle East, in addition to the situation in Afghanistan, the Sudan and Cote d’Ivoire.
The two parties also discussed economic cooperation between Islamic countries in Central Asia and China, as well as some economic projects in Africa.
The meeting further reviewed the steps made in preparation for the organization of the academic symposium on the Islamic and Chinese civilizations and their historical ties, and an agreement was reached to hold the symposium in Istanbul and to organize successive editions addressing other dimensions of the Islamic-Chinese relations.
