By DPA
Islamabad : Foreign ministers of the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) will meet in the Pakistani capital Tuesday for a three-day conference covering a range of international issues including strained relations with the Western world.
Being held under the title of "Session of Peace, Progress and Harmony", the conference will be inaugurated by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will be the chief guest at the concluding session Thursday.
The agenda will, according to the OIC, include the question of Palestine, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the situation in Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan, Jammu and Kashmir, the peace process between India and Pakistan and Iran's cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The ministers were expected to extend their support "to Iran's right of peaceful use of nuclear technology", an unidentified senior Pakistani official told The Nation newspaper.
The OIC said they will also discuss "Islamophobia" and brainstorm at their 34th annual meeting to produce strategies "to foster mutual understanding and dialogue between the Islamic world and the West".
The conference will further address the fight against international terrorism and the situation of Muslim minorities and communities in non-OIC countries, particularly in the Southern Philippines and Thailand.
Also on the agenda are economic matters and cooperation among members in the areas of science and technology, information, healthcare and the environment.
The event was to go ahead despite tensions between the Pakistani government and the opposition and related violent clashes in the southern city of Karachi during the weekend that left more than 40 people dead.
The OIC was set up in Morocco in 1969 and is the largest international organisation after the United Nations.