Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, also attended delivered a speech in which he welcomed the guests and conveyed greetings of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to them and their wishes for the success of this meeting.
"We are meeting today with pride to observe the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the OIC recalling the pioneer of Islamic solidarity late King Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud and other leaders of Islamic countries," Prince Faisal also said.
PrinceFaisal pointed out that OIC has defended the Islamic issues during thepast decades, foremost of which is the Palestinian cause, the greatest concernfor the Arab and Islamic nation, adding that it is the focus of our attentionuntil the Palestinian people obtain their inalienable legitimate rights toestablish an independent state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital,stressing Saudi Arabia's total rejection to any actions that would prejudicethe historical and legal status of Jerusalem.
Prince Faisal also confirmed that the organization stood in full efforts with the issues of Muslim minorities in non-Islamic countries, the latest of which was to stand by the Rohingya Muslims.
Theminister highlighted the OIC's efforts to promote regional and internationalpeace and security.
PrinceFaisal explained that the OIC, through its establishment of the Observatory ofIslamophobia, seeks to monitor cases of violence and hatred with a view todocumenting them, in particular to the Council of Foreign Ministers of the OICMember States, and raising global awareness of the clear threat posed byIslamophobia and other discriminatory policies and practices against Muslims.
Onthe economic and development side, Prince Faisal said that the organization hasachieved economic and development successes in cooperation with its specializedinstitutions such as the Islamic Development Bank as the volume of intra-OICtrade reached about $644bn in 2017, compared to $556bn in 2016, whichrepresents a 15% increase in intra-OIC trade.
Theminister praised the work of the Islamic Solidarity Fund, which greatly contributedto establishing projects in a number of Islamic countries, where the number ofprojects implemented and financed by the Fund during the year 2018-2019,reached 49 projects worth more than $4mn.
Moreover, Prince Faisal highlighted efforts by the organization to alleviate poverty and empower women.
The minister also said that Saudi Arabia will strive to unify attitudes, motivate and work with Member States and the Secretariat of the Organization to accelerate the achievement of comprehensive reform of the OIC.
