Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 23/09/2010
The United Nations Headquarters, New York 23 September 2010 Your Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, It gives me great pleasure today to open this meeting of the OIC Contact Group on Iraq. I am also pleased to note that this meeting is held in concurrence with the 40th anniversary of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference. It is our hope that this meeting will further contribute to our efforts to achieve peace, stability and development in Iraq. Your Excellencies, Distinguished delegates, My report to this meeting provides a summary of the positive developments in terms of the Organisation’s relations with Iraq and the activities that the Organisation has carried out in the past. My visit to Iraq in 2009 leading a large delegation from the General Secretariat, the subsidiary organs and the specialised and affiliated institutions was a propitious opportunity to exchange views with Iraqi officials on the situation in Iraq and the role of the OIC in the phase of reconstruction and sustainable development. I wish to reiterate here the Organisation’s full commitment to work toward intensifying contacts with the competent Iraqi authorities to implement the joint communiqué as regards cooperation between Iraq and the OIC with its various organs. In this connection, we have agreed with the Iraqi side to set up a follow-up mechanism composed, on the Iraqi side, of officials from the ministries concerned, the General Secretariat and its subsidiary organs and specialized and affiliated institutions. This mechanism would meet regularly in the fourth quarter of each year and would be entrusted with evaluating and following up the implementation of projects and identifying the future fields of action. In this context, an agreement was signed to grant Iraq a loan of 500 million US dollars in the form of grants and soft loan to help with reconstruction of Iraq, pending the Iraqi side’s implementation of this loan. In March 2010 an Iraqi high-level delegation representing various ministries concerned conducted a series of important talks with the OIC General Secretariat and the Islamic Development Bank in order to follow up the implementation of the provisions of the joint communiqué. In another respect, we hope to be able to capitalize on the positive spirit which resulted from my visit to Iraq and the uninterrupted effort of the OIC Office in Baghdad to strengthen relations of cooperation between Iraq and the OIC in order to find ways and means to make major contributions to national reconciliation in Iraq by promoting unity and cohesion between Sunnites and Shiites in building a stable, secure, democratic, prosperous and unified Iraq. I would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm the OIC’s commitment to the implementation of Makkah Al Mukarramah Document of 2006 in accordance with the provisions of the ministerial resolution adopted in Dushanbe on Iraq, which stressed the need to continue to implement the provisions of this important document. Indeed, we have started to make some contacts in order to reach a common ground on the implementation of this document and we will continue our consultations with the Iraq government and the parties concerned to reach this goal. Desirous of holding a national reconciliation conference in Iraq in implementation of this important document, we have mandated the Islamic Fiqh Academy and a group of scholars to prepare a study on rapprochement among schools of thought as stipulated in the Ten-year Programme of Action. Your Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, We have followed, with deep sorrow, the sinful bombings that targeted of late large numbers of Iraqi civilians and caused huge material damage. Through my various statements, I have expressed in the strongest terms the OIC’s condemnation of these bombings. Reaffirming our indignation of the acts of violence and terrorism, we appeal once again to the Iraqi people to hold fast to their unity and not to be dragged by these attempts which use innocent blood to serve criminal goals, cause strife in Iraq and create a state of instability all over the country. I would like to avail myself of this opportunity to commend the efforts made by the Iraqi Government to put an end to the spiral of violence and to eradicate terrorism through the reconciliation plan which gives a chance to the various political, religious and racial components of the Iraqi people for a peaceful participation in the political process and to launch the reconstruction of Iraq. We hope that dialogue will continue with all concerned in order to bring together all Iraqis without exception. I would also like to laud the elections that took place on 28 March 2010 in which the Iraqi people expressed their determination to opt for the democratic path in running the country, and demonstrated the importance of forming a strong Iraqi government that takes on board all components of the Iraqi people, especially that Iraq is facing major challenges ahead in establishing security and rebuilding Iraq. Your Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, In conclusion, I wish to stress that the General Secretariat of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and all its institutions and organs are aware of their responsibility toward the Iraqi people. They will provide all possible forms of support and assistance to Iraq in order to achieve lasting peace and development in this country, which is one of the OIC founding Member States.
