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OPT: OIC Secretary General addresses OSCE Summit in Astana and holds talks with the President of Kazakhstan

The OIC Secretary General Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu participated in the OSCE Summit held in Astana on 1-2 December 2010. In his statement to Summit, Prof. Ihsanoglu underlined the immense scope of cooperation between the OIC and the OSCE and urged for a need to take full advantage of the opportunity by giving further impetus to existing cooperation through increased interaction and consultations.

The Secretary General highlighted OIC's active involvement in various conflict resolution initiatives, and underscored that the conflict in Palestine as probably the most serious challenge to global peace and security. He also stated that peace is indivisible and resolving conflicts in the Muslim World would significantly contribute to the security and stability in Europe. Drawing attention to the rise of Islamophobia, as well as intolerance and discrimination against Muslims particularly in Europe, Prof. Ihsanoglu called for joint efforts between the OIC and OSCE to put together tangible and result oriented actions to motivate the people to reject the extremists on both sides and to develop in them a culture of respect and tolerance for the whole range of civil and political, as well as economic, social and cultural rights of people of all beliefs and backgrounds. The statement briefed the Summit on OIC's efforts to promote human rights and good governance as well as socio-economic development in Member States.

During the visit to Astana, the Secretary General had an audience with H.E. Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Secretary General stated that Kazakhstan's OSCE Chairmanship will assume greater significance when it assumes the Chairmanship of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) as of June 2011. He briefed the President on the agenda of the OIC Summit to be held in March 2011 in Egypt as well as the preparations for the OIC CFM to be hosted by Kazakhstan next year. The Secretary General and the President agreed to further cooperation and continue contacts between the OIC and the Republic of Kazakhstan in this regard.

In his meeting with H.E. Kanat Saudabayev, Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan, the Secretary General discussed bilateral collaboration between the OIC and Kazakhstan and the preparations for the "International Forum on OIC-Kazakhstan: Prospects for New Cooperation" scheduled to be held in Astana on 8 December 2010. They also discussed regional developments and the support of OIC to the region in line with the initiative on solidarity with Central Asia.