Honourable Chairman
H.E. the Secretary General of the OIC
Distinguished Delegates
Let me at the outset express my sincere gratitude to the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan and to the Secretariat of the Organization of the Islamic Conference for inviting me to this august forum. I consider it an extraordinary honour to speak at this occasion. Before proceeding further, I deem it necessary to thank the host Government for feting us at this beautiful city of Dushanbe and for extending us generous hospitality. For me it is an added pleasure to attend the 37th OIC-Council of Foreign Ministers being held in one of the ECO’s active member states.
Excellencies
The Organization of Islamic Conference being a leading voice for the Muslim world in the realm of international relations, has been playing a pivotal role in strengthening brotherhood and fraternity among the Ummah, and promoting cooperation in an array of fields which inter alia include trade, transport, economy, science, culture, and education etc. Its contributions in harmonizing the views of its member countries on issues of regional and international scale are also commendable. The efforts of OIC in fostering cooperative relations with other regional/international organization are equally laudable. Among its many strengths is its ability to have remained responsive to emerging challenges.
Excellencies:
With the kind of challenges that confront us today, the importance of adopting collective approach to face common challenges is being realized as never before. There is a growing understanding that the key to achieving practical and efficient solutions to such challenges lie in collective efforts. We in the ECO are also driven by the same concept. The organization is dedicated to enhancing regional integration and to promoting conditions for socioeconomic development in our member states. With the support of our member countries as also to their commitment to the goals of the organization, ECO has made considerable progress in diverse areas of its activities ranging from trade, transport, agriculture and energy to health, human resource development, drug prevention, disaster risk management, environment and tourism etc. In order to achieve our goals and objectives, we have also joined hands with other regional and international organizations.
Excellencies
The relationship between OIC and ECO was institutionalized in 1994 by signing a MoU. Since then, our relations with OIC and its specialized agencies and bodies have been flourishing. This growth in relations we owe to the spirit of fraternity as also to the presence of mutual desire to support each others’ efforts for the benefit of our common membership.
Excellencies
We are thankful to the Organization of Islamic Conference for their support to ECO’s activities and programmes. I am especially grateful to H.E. Professor Dr. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu who has always been kind and generous in his support towards ECO. At this point I would also like to acknowledge the support of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), as a specialized institution of the OIC for their financial support to our projects especially in the fields of Trade, Transport, Agriculture, Energy and Water Management etc.
Excellencies,
There exists considerable scope to broaden our partnership in areas of mutual concern. We only have to seize the opportunity. In this context, allow me to share some of my ideas for enhancing future cooperation. I would like to start with Trade:
Areas of trade and investment are being accorded highest priority by ECO for broadening of cooperation with relevant international and regional organizations. ECO-OIC cooperation can successfully lead towards a more effective economic integration of ECO Member States as well as integration of the ECO region with other OIC economies. There is a need for a more coordinated effort by both the organizations to meaningfully contribute to boosting trade among the Islamic countries. Considering wide scope for cooperation, ECO and OIC may jointly develop a comprehensive programme for promotion of trade among the regional and Islamic countries. To begin with, OIC Secretariat and its relevant institutions may consider possibilities of cooperation in identified fields which included:
· Activities designed for assistance and support for the accession of ECO Member States to WTO.
· Initiating an OIC/ECO Technical Assistance and Capacity Building Programme to strengthen organizations responsible for promotion of trade and investment of the Member States and sharing of experience among the Islamic countries in the fields of banking, customs and taxation, trade and investment promotion.
· Strengthening the institutional infrastructure to meet the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary measures.
Joint activities for private sector to facilitate greater exchange of information, participation in Trade Fairs, setting up joint ventures, establishing networking and increased commercial activities.
Programmes to support women entrepreneurship development, establishment of sector specific Associations at regional level and market assistance to potential exporters.
Excellenices:
Given the importance of transit transport in enhancing the linkages between Muslim Countries, it is suggested that the ECO and OIC may enhance cooperation in promoting the development of transport infrastructure in the region. In particular, OIC and ECO may develop joint strategy for raising funds for implementation of priority projects in the areas of road, railway, marine transport and telecommunications. We are aware that COMCEC-the economic cooperation arm of OIC has recently included transport realted matteres in its agenda. Such efforts would facilitate the establishment of an Islamic network of Transport and Communications.
In the area of Agriculture, we can cooperate with OIC Member States on strengthening the seed supply, promotion of regional seed trade/exchange among the member states of our organizations. We may also organize training courses to support the national seed associations in the ECO Region as well as in OIC Member States.
Excellencies:
ECO accords high priority to promoting its ties with OIC. It is our sincere desire to further enhance this partnership. On behalf of the ECO Secretariat, I assure you of our fullest support towards that end.
I wish the honourable delegates all success during the course of this meeting and conclude my statement with prayers for the prosperity of the Muslim Ummah.
I thank you for your attention.
[Home] [Contact us] [Feedback] [Back]