The newly elected Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, has expressed his firm assurances that the OIC will stand by Bangladesh for a speedy repatriation of the Rohingyas to their homeland.
The assurance was given when Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the OIC, Ambassador MJH Jabed, called on the secretary general to hand over a letter of felicitations from the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh and President of the 81st UN General Assembly, Dr Khalilur Rahman, reads a press release.
The secretary general noted that if not properly addressed, the protracted Rohingya crisis could jeopardize regional security, causing immense suffering for all.
During the meeting, Ambassador Jabed conveyed the sincere wishes of the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh and expressed the all-out support of the Government of Bangladesh in the discharge of the Secretary General’s responsibilities.
In response, Secretary General Cheikh Ahmed highly praised the democratic transition in Bangladesh and expressed optimism that under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, the country’s development journey will gain new momentum. He also indicated that Bangladesh is amongst the priority countries on his list for an upcoming visit.
The Secretary General highlighted the valuable contributions of the Islamic University of Technology (IUT)—a subsidiary organ of the OIC hosted by Bangladesh—in spreading science and technology education in the frontier parts of the OIC Member States.
He assured that new initiatives would be taken to broaden the research and innovation capacity of the IUT, particularly in different fields of Artificial Intelligence.
Both sides agreed that OIC countries can complement each other in various programmes and activities as they present a diversity in resource endowments. It was noted that Member States can cooperate and execute projects on a win-win proposition across a number of productive sectors and sub-sectors, including contract farming, healthcare, science and technology, hospitality, and education.
Thanking the Secretary General for his positive outlook regarding Bangladesh, its people, and its leadership, Ambassador Jabed stated that in the coming years Bangladesh looks forward to working closely with the OIC Secretariat on cross-cutting issues.
