By IINA
Islamabad : The Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu urged the Muslim countries to “pool their resources, share expertise and work together to improve the conditions of the Muslim Ummah”. “We should also continue to rely upon collective will and joint action on the part of OIC Member States,” he said. Prof. Ihsanoglu was addressing the opening session of the 13th General Assembly meeting of the OIC Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) here on Tuesday. The opening session of the three-day meeting, which concluded today, was chaired by Parvez Musharraf, President of Pakistan.
Prof. Ihsanoglu stressed the need for acquiring advanced technologies by Muslim countries to safeguard their economic development, political independence and cultural identity; “We have no choice but to acquire advanced technologies and thus pave the way to a more vibrant economy, namely, the knowledge economy. This could only be achieved through a sound and effective science and technology policy commitment,” he added.
The OIC Chief emphasized the need for OIC member states to allocate additional budgets in the field of research and development. He stated that most of these countries are striving to achieve economic development by wholesale importation of various kinds of technologies from developed countries. As a remedy, and in order to avoid over-dependence on the developed countries, the secretary general said that member states should further concentrate on education and training in the fields of Science and Technology, according to an OIC statement.
On the sideline of the COMSTECH meeting, the Secretary General met with President Parvez Musharraf and discussed issues of mutual concern including the role of the OIC after Dakar Summit. The Pakistani President commended the role of the secretary general for addressing the multifaceted issues pertinent to the Muslim World and congratulated him for the success of Dakar Summit and for his re-election for a second term during the Summit. Professor Ihsanoglu also met with the newly-elected Prime Minister of Pakistan Reza Gilani and Minister of Foreign Affairs Shahid Mahmud Hussein and congratulated them on assuming office after the recently-held elections in Pakistan. He expressed to them his appreciation for Pakistan’s role in supporting the OIC and causes of the Muslim Ummah.
The Secretary General briefed Gilani on the outcome of the 11th Session of the Islamic Summit Conference held in Dakar, especially the adoption of the new Charter of the OIC.
The discussion also included the issues of Islamophobia, the ongoing campaign targeting Islam and its symbols as well as possible ways and means to confront this campaign.