By Salbiah Said
KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 (Bernama) -- The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) looks forward to the United States' role as an honest broker in the Middle East peace process, under the stewardship of US President Barack Obama, said OIC secretary-general Prof Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu.
He said Obama's address at Cairo University last week reflected the US desire to open a new page with the Muslim world, and signalled a more balanced approach on the part of the US Administration towards resolving the crisis, particularly the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
Of significance, he said, was the fact that Obama, who has made Middle East peace a key foreign policy priority, vowed that the United States "would not turn its back on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity and a state of their own".
"We look forward to (having) honest brokers, which have been missing, in this peace process. We hope the United States can serve that role," Ihsanoglu told Bernama last Saturday after being conferred the "Panglima Setia Mahkota" award, which carries the title "Tan Sri", by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin in conjunction with His Majesty's birthday.
At the end of the ceremony, Ihsanoglu, of Turkey, expressed his deep gratitude to the King and thanked the Malaysian government and people for the significance of the award. It is the first time an OIC secretary-general has received such a title.
"The conferment of this title, awarded on a recommendation by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, is a recognition of the Secretary-General's services and contribution to Malaysia as well as his outstanding leadership of the OIC to preserve Islamic social and economic values and promote Islamic solidarity among the OIC Member States," an OIC statement said.
Meanwhile, the OIC secretary-general, who was present during Obama's Cairo address, said the speech touched on some of the points he had raised in an open letter to Obama, published in the New York Times and International Herald Tribune on Jan 20.
"In my letter, I had said we wanted to have a new partnership with the United States, built on two principles. Firstly, mutual respect, secondly, mutual interest. If we build the partnership on these two premises, I think the relationship will be balanced and serve the interest of both sides," Ihsanoglu said.
Ihsanoglu, who was happy with the fact that Obama highlighted the OIC in his speech, said that member nations of the grouping would now be looking to how Washington would follow up on "this declaration of goodwill" with its policies and action.
On Obama's announcement of a new global effort with the OIC to eradicate polio, the secretary-general said he looked forward to cooperating with the US Administration on this "crucial endeavour, which is of utmost priority to the OIC".
On the president's decision to expand partnerships to promote child and maternal health, he stated the OIC's readiness to take all necessary steps based on the Memorandum of Understanding which was signed in this specific field between the OIC General Secretariat and the US State Department in December 2008.
On his assessment of the OIC after 40 years in existence, he said he was glad to speak of the organisation in Malaysia, where the nation's first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, was the first OIC secretary-general and founder.
"It has been quite a history, and the OIC has developed in a big way, the second-largest after the United Nations. There is a long queue of countries wanting to be members or observers. We are considering that positively."
The OIC, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, has been engaged for the last few years in seeking solutions conducive to the establishment of peace in Muslim countries, he said.
The 57-nation Jeddah-based OIC represents 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide. Malaysia was the chair of this organisation between 2003 and 2007.
"The OIC has been active internationally and is quite different from before. We are working on the same basis and aspirations of Tunku Abdul Rahman, with the objective of placing the Muslim ummah under one umbrella, but with a new language, new spirit and modus operandi."
On criticisms levelled against the body for its passive reactions to major events regarding Muslim countries, Ihsanoglu, who has been holding the post since 2005, said the OIC had changed very much, and cited its successful efforts in curtailing sectarian violence in Iraq and stopping bloodshed.
Other efforts include its humanitarian assistance to Somalia and Tunisia and earthquake victims in Pakistan, he said, adding that it had been engaging with minorities, like Muslims in Mindanao and Pattani in Thailand.
At the Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Damascus last month, council members proposed that the OIC should be given more power to resolve conflicts in Muslim countries.
The OIC has also included scientific and technological advancement as a priority of its agenda. One of the immediate efforts is to rank the best 20 universities in the OIC member countries and promote them to the rest of the world.
On OIC intra-trade, Ihsanoglu said the present global financial crisis had created additional incentives for trade among member nations, with some countries, which were facing difficulty exporting their goods elsewhere, now trading among themselves.
As targeted under the OIC's 10-year Programme of Action, which was accepted at the third extraordinary session of the Islamic Summit in Mecca in December 2005, he said, intra trade was expected to reach 20 per cent before 2015.
"We are now at 17 per cent, and have been moving very fast over the last three to four years. We are doing very well, holding exhibitions, fairs and economic forums in various parts of the world, to boost intra trade," he said.
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