LOC20:29
17:29 GMT
DAMASCUS, May 21 (KUNA) -- Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Al-Miqdad
highlighted on Thursday the importance of the 36th session of the Organization
of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Ministerial Council, due to start here on
Saturday.
The three-day session, titled "Towards Bolstering Islamic Solidarity,"
gains additional significance as it coincides with delicate conditions in the
Muslim world, the senior diplomat said in an interview with the Syrian TV
station.
President Bashar al-Assad will delivers a keynote speech at the opening
session of the conference, he noted.
The conference will provide an opportunity for the foreign ministers of 57
Islamic countries and representatives of some observer countries to discuss a
wide-range of political, economic and social issues of common interest for the
Muslim nation, Al-Miqdad pointed out.
On top of the agenda of the event are the Arab-Israeli conflict, the
continuous Israeli violations in Jerusalem, the current situation of the peace
process in the Middle East, and the situations in the occupied Syrian Golan
Heights and the Palestinian territories.
The ministers will also discuss the situations in Iraq, Somalia and Sudan,
the UN reforms, and the future role of the OIC in peacemaking and resolving
the disputes among its member countries, he revealed.
In addition, the conferees will review the issues of Islamophobia and
discrimination against Muslims in foreign countries, the OIC-conceived
ten-year development program and the Damascus Declaration and explore the ways
to enhance economic cooperation among their countries. (end)
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