SPEECH BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE OIC COUNCIL OF FOREIGN MINISTERS, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN ABDULAZIZ KAMILOV AT THE BRIEFING FOR MASS MEDIA

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem,

Dear representatives of mass media!

The 43rd Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which has just ended, saw the participation of the heads and high-profile delegations of the foreign policy institutions of OIC Member States and Observers, the distinguished Secretary General Mr. Iyad Amin Madani, the heads and representatives of various structures and commissions of our Organization, as well as the guests invited from various regional and international organizations.

I want to inform with pleasure that this time as well the Member States have demonstrated the solid unity, similarity and concurrence of views and positions on the most urgent issues of international agenda, the political will to find compromise, and thus, to assist the effective resolution of available problems and consolidation of authority of our Organization in the world.

On the outcomes of our work the Tashkent Declaration was adopted, which underscores a worthy place of the OIC among the authoritative and influential international organizations, as well as calls on to stir up the efforts in terms of bettering the activity of the Organization to ensure the unity of the Muslim Ummah, to establish a solid peace and security, to render assistance to sustainable social and economic development in the Member States.

The CFM has once again confirmed the full support for Palestine and Al-Quds Ash-Shareef, the lawful and inviolable rights of the Palestinian people, the peaceful initiatives on Middle East settlement, as well as fair and concurred resolution of the problem of Palestinian refugees in accordance with relevant resolutions of United Nations Security Council and norms of international law.

The OIC Member States stand united in their view on the need for the soonest stabilization of the situation in the Middle East and North Africa by way of political settlement of crises in line with the principles of the United Nations Charter and universally recognized international norms.

Drawing again the attention of the international community towards the situation in Afghanistan, this time as well we have stated that there is no military solution of the Afghan problem. We have voiced support to settlement of the intra-Afghan problem through advancement of an inclusive process of national reconciliation proceeding from the fact that these efforts must be taken under the leadership of Afghans and by the Afghans themselves.

The Member States of the Organization have emphasized the priority of countering terrorism and extremism in all of their manifestations, illicit production and trafficking of drugs, illegal arms trade, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and means of its delivery. It was noted that it is possible to defeat and eliminate these dangerous phenomena only by way of stirring up the joint struggle and elaborating the retaliation measures both against the symptoms and roots of these problems.

All participants of the Session supported the necessity of disseminating the knowledge about enlightened Islam as an important instrument of the struggle against the ideology of terrorism, violent extremism and religious fanaticism.

Taking into account that Uzbekistan’s chairmanship in the OIC CFM is held under a slogan «The education and enlightenment – path to peace and creativity», a special attention was paid to such issues as an in-depth contemplation of historical scientific heritage of outstanding scholars and thinkers of the Islamic world, ensuring growth of investments and input into a human capital, development and betterment of the system of education, upbringing of the forthcoming generation in the spirit of strife to master the universal human and Islamic values and summits of modern science.

The OIC stands ready to further continue and expand the programs and events in the sphere of higher education, in particular, in the framework of the Educational exchange program, to stir up the connections among higher education institutions, to advance the joint science and research projects, to institute scholarships and professional training programs.

In this context, the adoption of the new «Ten-year action program: the OIC – Year 2025» was highly appreciated. Its implementation will serve for further development of trade and investments, transfer of high technologies, advancement of private sector, industrialization, scientific spheres and education in the Muslim countries in the 21st century.

A particular attention was paid to such issues as exchange of experience in terms of addressing the issues of slowdown in growth of an economy, introduction of innovative technologies, shaping favorable investment and business climate, implementation of the long-term mutually beneficial projects in the priority directions of cooperation and development of infrastructure.

The participants of the Session have unanimously supported the efforts of the OIC Member States in terms of implementation of the national programs for using the renewable sources of energy and establishing the innovative economy.

As for the sphere of healthcare the Council has underscored its key significance in ensuring the high living standards and as a whole prosperity of society, and called for effective and full implementation of the «OIC strategic action plan in the sphere of healthcare for 2014-2023».

The participants of the Session have voiced a full support for the efforts of the Secretary General in terms of further deepening the cooperation and interaction of the OIC with regional and international organizations, especially the United Nations and its institutions.

Uzbekistan welcomes all these priorities of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and over the course of its chairmanship in the Organization’s CFM intends to channel efforts for implementation of the set goals in practice.

A special meeting «Extending opportunities and promoting the creative potential of the youth» was also held in the framework of the Session. The meeting saw a detailed and productive exchange of views on the issues of youth policy of the Member States and prospects of interaction in this area.

Taking this opportunity, as a chair of the OIC CFM I would like to thank His Excellency Secretary General Mr. Iyad Amin Madani for his role in advancement of the interests of the Muslim Ummah and uniting the efforts and aspirations of the OIC Member States in achieving the set goals in political, socio-economic and humanitarian spheres.

On the outcomes of our two-day work the participants of the Session approved 118 resolutions. You can learn their texts later on the OIC website and on the page of Uzbekistan’s chairmanship in the CFM on the website of the Uzbekistan Foreign Ministry.

The OIC Council of Foreign Ministers has received with pleasure the proposal of Côte d’Ivoire and adopted a decision to hold the 44th Session of the OIC CFM in 2017 in the city of Yamoussoukro.

In conclusion, dear representatives of mass media, allow me to thank you for your participation in this meeting.

Thank you for your attention and I offer the floor with pleasure to Mr. Secretary General.

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