Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 15/01/2012
The Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, met in Riyadh on Sunday 15 January 2012 the Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of China, Wen Jiabao. They discussed the ways and means to develop relations between the OIC and the People’s Republic of China and addressed the current issues and developments in the region and in parts of the Muslim world. The meeting also stressed the importance of implementing joint projects after the first visit of the Secretary General to China in June 2010.
For his part, the Secretary General stated that, throughout history, relations between China and the Muslim world have never faced problems and that today these relations must be developed for the interest of stability in the world. The meeting highlighted the importance of enhancing the strategic relationship between the OIC and the People’s Republic of China, and of sustaining cooperation between the two parties and bilateral relations between China and Islamic countries. This relationship should not be affected by crises.
The Secretary General stressed that his visit to the People’s Republic of China in June 2010 left positive impressions and achieved important and positive results.
He highlighted that this meeting comes at a time when the Muslim world is going through difficult times as people are demanding democracy and good governance, affirming their cultural identity and claiming socio-economic rights and development. He added that dialogue was the best means to solve the problems and avoid bloodshed.
Ihsanoglu highlighted the importance of the symposium on the history and future of relations between China and the Muslim world due to take place in Beijing next June. For his part, the Chinese Prime Minister said that his country attaches great importance to holding this symposium in cooperation between the OIC Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA) and the Social Sciences Academy in Beijing, stating that China is set to reinforce OIC’s efforts to achieve positive results, in such a way as to support relations between China and the Muslim world.
The meeting also underscored the importance of the trade fair being prepared in the International Trade Center in Ningxia Province in cooperation between the Islamic Center for the Development of Trade (ICDT) in Casablanca and officials in Ningxia Province.
On the other hand, the Chinese Prime Minister expressed his country’s interest in supporting development and infrastructure projects in OIC Member States, including Dakar-Port Sudan Railway Project extending from the Red Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.
