The OIC secretary general receives in his office the Turkish minister of foreign affairs Ali Babacan

Date: 22/10/2007

The OIC Secretary General Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu received the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs His Excellency Mr. Ali Babacan at his office on October 21 2007. The Turkish Minister paid a courtesy visit to the OIC Headquarters in Jeddah during the course of his official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The two leaders discussed issues of crucial importance for peace and stability in the region. The Secretary General congratulated the Minister on assuming the new responsibility. He conveyed his thanks and gratitude for the generous support the OIC has been receiving from the Government of Turkey. Ihsanoglu also briefed the Minister on the OIC activities and initiatives including the advancement regarding the amendment of the OIC Charter and signing of documents for the new General Secretariat building. On his part, the Foreign Minister expressed his pleasure for visiting the General Secretariat for the first time in his capacity as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He congratulated the Secretary General and his colleagues for their extraordinary efforts and achievements in particular in bringing reforms to the Organization. Terming the OIC as a unique Organization binding different regions and cultures in one framework, he mentioned that the Government of Turkey has high expectations from the Organization and is following closely its activities. He also congratulated the Secretary General on his personal success in making the Organization more modern and dynamic. The Foreign Minister also briefed the Secretary General on some regional issues of concern for Turkey. As a close neighbor to Iraq, Turkey wants to see Iraq a politically stable, terrorist-free and an integrated country. Disintegration of Iraq would be devastating not only for Iraq itself but for the whole region, he commented. Turkey is going to host the extended meeting of Iraq neighboring countries including the P-5 and G-8 countries. Additionally, the Minister expressed his grave concern over the terrorist activities in Turkey conducted by the terrorist organization PKK from its base within the Iraqi territory. He said that Turkey is in contact with the Iraqis as well as US authorities in curbing the PKK activities. On the Lebanese issue, the Minister stated that having free and fair elections in Lebanon is another crucial factor for peace and stability in the region. On the Palestinian issue, he said that without peace and stability in Palestine there would be no sustainable peace in the Middle East. Turkey is hopeful about the US initiative of the Peace Conference to be held probably in the near future given that there will be some concrete results out of it. The Secretary General thanked the Turkish Minister for his lucid briefing and expressed his appreciation for Turkey’s dynamism in dealing with international issues, its role in the region as well as its role as an OIC member. After his meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, the Secretary General and his guest held a press conference in which Ihsanoglu welcomed again his guest and thanked him for his first visit to the OIC General Secretariat. He briefed the journalists about the content of his discussion with the Turkish Minister which touched on a number of issues including enhancing cooperation between the OIC and Turkey which chairs two OIC subsidiary organs, namely the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRTCIC) and the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA). During the press conference, the Turkish Foreign Minister commended the Secretary General for the internal reform and restructuring process which the OIC General Secretariat is currently undergoing. “Turkey as a founder member of the OIC fully supports the OIC which will have a more crucial role to play in the future” and “Turkey appreciates the Secretary General for his successful work”, the Minister said. Babacan was asked by the media about the objectives of his tour in the region including his trip to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the recent attacks by the PKK Kurdish group on some Turkish army personnel and his government’s stand on the situation in Lebanon and Iraq and how it intends to deal with it. On the Iraqi issue, the Turkish Foreign Minister said that his country will host an extended meeting of Iraq neighboring countries during the first week of November 2007 and extended his invitation for the Secretary General to participate in this conference. On the recent escalating tension in Turkey, the OIC Secretary General supported the Turkish Minister’s stand in fighting terrorists and said that “the OIC has a principled stand against all terrorist activities whether by individuals, groups or states and that Turkey has the right to defend itself”. He also reiterated the dire need for Islamic solidarity and international cooperation to fight all forms of terrorism.

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