The preparatory meeting for the forty-fourth session of the Foreign Ministers' Council of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), started here today and will continue until May 2.
During the opening session, the chairmanship of the meeting was handed over by President of the previous session Cote d'Ivoire to Uzbekistan.
The three-day meeting will discuss the Palestinian issue, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the conflicts in the Islamic world, the fight against international terrorism, the phenomenon of Islamophobia and defamation of religions, as well as the work program of the organization until 2025 in addition to humanitarian, economic, legal and media issues.
In his speech at the opening session of the meeting, the OIC secretary-general, Dr. Yousef bin Ahmed Al Othaimeen, stressed that the unfortunate developments witnessed by some OIC Member States and the deterioration of the security and humanitarian situation necessitates intensifying consultations for greater coordination and greater efforts to establish peace in the region and ensure justice and decent living for present and future generations.
Al Othaimeen also addressed the situation in Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Mali, Central Africa and Afghanistan and the situation of Muslim minorities in Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and other countries.
He also called for further work to activate the laws and legislations aimed at fighting terrorism and intensify cooperation with the international community to develop a comprehensive approach that takes into account all security, economic, cultural, social and intellectual dimensions and focuses on all forms of discrimination, extremism and misinterpretation of the Islamic religion.

Source: QNA