Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 02/12/2007
The proceedings of the 36th Session of the Permanent Finance Committee (PFC) of the Organization of the Islamic Conference opened this morning in Jeddah.
Opening the session, the Secretary General of the OIC, Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, said that the meeting was very important because it had been authorized by the 34th Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers on exceptional ground to adopt the 2008 budget due to the change in the financial year to commence and end with the Gregorian calendar.
After expressing full satisfaction and appreciation for the close working relationship between the OIC and the PFC, as reflected positively on the performance of the Organisation in many fields, the Secretary General remarked that the significant leap in the performance of the General Secretariat at all levels had caused an increase in the number of States that fulfil their obligations from 35 to 48. This significant improvement in receipt of mandatory contributions and the implementation of advanced unified accounting system since 2005/2006, he explained, had impacted clearly on two key issues: growing confidence of Member States in the usefulness of the Organisation and the importance of its activities, on one hand and the emergence of the Organisation as an effective, respected and credible institution on par with other time-honoured international organisations, on the other. The Secretary General added: “Our aspiration for quality performance, distinguished presence in the international arena and dedicated service for the Ummah’s causes is not confined to what has been achieved thus far. Rather it will extend to greater areas, particularly those that have been opened up by the Makkah 3rd Extraordinary Islamic Summit.”
To rise to these growing responsibilities, he explained that the General Secretariat has found itself to be in dire need of highly skilled human resources… “However, quite regrettably, we find ourselves unable to attract such qualified human capacities, on account of the inadequate salaries offered by the General Secretariat and the absence of a proper pension scheme that would provide the staff members with continued living resources after retirement.”
The Secretary General explained that based on this regrettable reality, the General Secretariat has sought an increase in basic salaries of staff, saying that the increase is made more justifiable by the rising rate of inflation in the host country in recent years, coupled with significant increase in the cost of living and major depreciation in the value of the dollar to the tune of 30% in recent years, which has impacted on the purchasing power and the value of salaries because of the link between the currency of the host country to the United States dollars.
The Secretary General said that the most important factor for increased need for resources, particularly the budget, is the increased responsibility and activities assigned to the OIC through summit and ministerial resolutions, particularly after the Makkah 3rd Extraordinary Summit and the development of the 10-Year Programme of Action whose implementation requires a great deal of efforts and expenses. He explained that part of the efforts required is the tackling of the growing phenomenon of Islamophobia in the West, conducting unprecedented activities such as the 2nd Meeting of Muslim minorities in Africa, the tripartite meeting to solve the problem of Muslim communities in southern Philippines, the activities of the General Secretariat to stop sectarian killings in Iraq, innovative activities together with the United Nations Development Programme, and the participation of the General Secretariat’s officials in dozens of international conferences and symposia. He also said that other basic needs of the Organisation are the setting up and operationalization of a library at the General Secretariat and the establishment of electronic archive for the Organization.
Prof. Ihsanoglu explained that the growth in the responsibilities of the Organisation requires a commensurate increase in expenses and costs to meet them, which is what is reflected in the figures of the proposed budget.
At the end of his statement, the Secretary General announced that the piece of land graciously allocated by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference for the construction of its new headquarters was finally handed over last Saturday, and that, today, a contract will be signed between the Ministry of Finance and National Economy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the team of Austrian Architects that prepared the winning design of the new headquarters so that construction would commence.
On this occasion, the Secretary General extended profound appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for his unwavering support for the Organisation, especially his highly generous allocation of land and the required money for the construction of the new headquarters. He thanked His Royal Highness Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and his aides in the Ministry for their constant cooperation. He equally thanked the Minister of Finance and National Economy, His Excellency Dr. Ibrahim Al Assaf, and his assistants for their kind understanding and support, and thanked H.E. Engineer Adil Faqeh, Mayor of Jeddah, and his staff for their support to the Organisation since the conception of this vital project.
