By IANS,
Jeddah : US President Barack Obama has told the Organization of Islamic Conference that he has full confidence that the US can work together with the world’s largest grouping of Muslims, the official IRNA news agency reported Monday.
In a letter to OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Obama said he would work to improve relations with the grouping, the Jeddah-based organization said in a statement.
Obama also thanked the OIC, which represents 1.5 billion Muslims in 57 countries, for congratulating him on his inauguration as the 44th president of the US Jan 20, the OIC said.
The OIC in its letter to Obama on the occasion of his inauguration urged the president to work for a “shared” peace in the world rather than one that is “imposed”.
“We warmly welcome your expressed desire to give a major address in a Muslim nation soon after you assume the presidency and hope it will mark the beginning of a more fruitful and better-informed dialogue between the West and the Muslim world,” the OIC said in its letter to Obama.
“We firmly believe that America, with your guidance, can help foster that peace, though real peace can only be shared – never imposed. A nation can either be great or feared, but rarely both at the same time,” it added.