Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 30/12/2013
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The General Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation held a farewell ceremony on Sunday 29 December 2013 in honour of the Secretary General Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu whose tenure ends tomorrow 31 December 2013.
The ceremony which was held at the Park Hayat Hotel in Jeddah also welcomed the Secretary General-elect Mr Iyad Ameen Madani, who would assume office on 1 January 2014.
During the ceremony, Ihsanoglu thanked all those who assisted him in his task in the service of the Islamic Ummah, noting that his work focused on the trust he carried from the day he was elected as the OIC Secretary General. He also said that his watch was always on Jeddah time throughout the 62 times he traveled around the world, because his thought and mind were always fixed on the work going on in the General Secretariat.
Ihsanoglu added that he and his colleagues did their best to improve the organization and upgrade its status to the league of influential international organizations. He then remarked that his successor, Madani, would carry the General Secretariat the way he had done and even better. He ended his remarks by saying that his concerns for the ummah will never cease, and therefore placed his capabilities and experiences at the disposal of the OIC at all times.
For his part, Madani stated that the nine years during which Ihsanoglu served as Secretary General witnessed tangible improvements for the Organisation, in addition to visibility at international fora and a better handling of its administration and logistics. Like all other organisations, the OIC, he said, has seen close to five decades in existence, full of events and volatilities.
The Secretary General-elect added that the OIC is living in a multi-polar world and needs to adjust to that reality. He noted that all the past secretaries general, each during his tenure, contributed to the OIC in accordance with the dynamics of his time and that the OIC would continue to remember their contributions and tireless efforts.
The Imam of the Sacred Mosque in Makkah and Advisor in the Royal Court, Sheikh Saleh Ibn Humayd, for his part, commended the endeavours of the Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu for enthroning the notions of moderation and tolerance and combating violence and extremism. He also addressed the Secretary General-elect, Iyad Ameen Madani, that given his competence, experience, capability and ability to solve problems in the Muslim world, so much hope is pinned on him.
In his welcome address to the audience, the Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs, Ambassador Abdullah Alim, said that the current Secretary General has proved that the concerns and difficulties of the Muslim world were on top of his priorities, adding that during his tenure the OIC witnessed qualitative shift in all areas. He equally welcomed the Secretary General-elect, Iyad Madani.
Ambassador Samir Bakr Diab, Assistant Secretary General for Al-Quds and Palestine Affairs, in his address on behalf of the General Secretariat staff, said that the ceremony was a well-deserved honour for the out-going Secretary General and a befitting welcome for his successor, in the truest sense of hope and trust in these two great pillars, with the OIC thus affirming its lofty status with a distinguished successor to an outstanding predecessor.
