VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Pakistan will host the 48th session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Council (OIC) of Foreign Ministers in Islamabad on March 22-23, 2022.

Prior to hosting the current session of the Foreign Ministers Conference of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Pakistan had hosted seven conferences of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, four of which were ordinary and three were extraordinary ones, as quoted by Union of News Agencies (UNA).

The Second Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers, held in Karachi on December 26-28, 1970, was the first ordinary conference hosted by Pakistan, with over 23 member states participating.

The conference witnessed the appointment of Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj of Malaysia as OIC Secretary-General and discussed proposals related to the establishment of some OIC specialized organs, including the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB).

On May 17-22, 1980, the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, hosted the 11th Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers, with the participation of 39 member states. The conference discussed several political, economic, and cultural issues of concern to Islamic countries and adopted important resolutions.

On April 25-29, 1993, Karachi hosted the 21st Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers, with the participation of 51 member states, and in the presence of several international and regional organizations.

On May 15-17, 2007, Islamabad hosted the 34th Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (Session of Peace, Progress and Harmony), with the participation of 54 member states.

The conference witnessed the issuance of several important decisions and recommendations related to economic and scientific affairs, including the call upon member states to contribute at least one percent of their GDP to promote science and technology as well as taking all practical steps to accelerate the transformation of their economies into a knowledge-based economy and to promote integration in information and communications technology (ICT).

As for emergency and extraordinary conferences, the Pakistani capital hosted the first conference of this kind on January 27-29, 1980, at the request of the Republic of Bangladesh to discuss developments in the then Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan.

Islamabad also hosted the Seventh Extraordinary Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers on September 7-9, 1994, which was held at the request of Pakistan to discuss issues of concern to the Islamic world.

On December 19, 2021, Islamabad hosted the 17th Extraordinary Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, at the initiative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Chair of the Islamic Summit, to discuss developments in Afghanistan and the humanitarian conditions of the Afghan people.

This conference witnessed historic decisions, including the approval for establishing a humanitarian trust fund for Afghanistan in order to address the deepening economic crisis in the country. (Antaranews)