Press Release ENG

S t a t e m e n t

by H.E. Dr. Elmar Mammadyarov Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan at Organization of the Islamic Conference 11th Session of the Islamic Summit Conference, 14 March 2008, Dakar, Senegal

Your Excellency President Abdoulaye Wade,

Your Majesties, Highnesses and Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

At the outset I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Republic of Senegal for hosting this important event in the lovely city of Dakar, which has been, by the way, the sister city of our capital Baku since 1984. In particular, I would like to thank His Excellency President Abdoulaye Wade and the Government and brotherly people of the Republic of Senegal for their warm hospitality and excellent arrangements for the Conference. It is my privilege and honour to congratulate you upon the assumption of the Chairmanship of the Eleventh Islamic Summit Conference and wish you every success in performing these challenging responsibilities.

Let me express my sincere belief that the Eleventh Summit is going to become a historic event for the future development of the OIC. Participation in this Session is of particular significance for Azerbaijan, as it was during the Islamic Summit held in Senegal in 1991 that my country was admitted to the OIC as a full-fledged member immediately after regaining its independence.

In the meantime, I would like to express my gratitude to the outgoing Malaysian Chairmanship for its able and skilful stewardship of the Organization and excellent work done during its term. My words of appreciation also go to OIC Secretary General Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and his highly dedicated team for their professionalism in preparation of this Summit.

I would also like to welcome today all Delegations and wish success to this Session, which will be dealing with important issues on its agenda.

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In the period after the Tenth Summit, Azerbaijan being committed to further development of cooperation with the brotherly Islamic countries has strengthened its relations with the OIC Member States. All tools including numerous high-level visits, expert meetings, coordination within international organizations, have been utilized by us to further strengthen cooperation within the OIC.

As the ICFM Chairman in 2006-2007, Azerbaijan actively participated in all meetings within the OIC framework and offered its full support to the initiatives of the OIC Member States and the General Secretariat.

Reaffirming its commitment to the goals and objectives of the Organization, my country has hosted a number of important OIC events, such as 33rd ICFM Session in June 2006, 5th Session of the Islamic Conference of Tourism Ministers in September 2006, Conference on the Role of Media in the Development of Tolerance and Mutual Understanding in April 2007, the expert meeting in November 2007 in preparation for the first OIC Conference of the Heads of Law-Enforcement Agencies.

In its capacity of the current Chairman of the Conference of Tourism Ministers, Azerbaijan will be hosting several international conferences on tourism. Using this opportunity, I would like to invite the Member States to participate in the International Forum for Silk Road Tour Operators to be held in Sheki on 14-15 April 2008, and in the Conference on Religious and Health Tourism to take place in Nakhichevan on 20-25 May 2008. It is my privilege also to invite the Member States to take part in the International Forum on Expanding the Role of Women in Cross-cultural Dialogue, organized by the initiative of the First Lady of Azerbaijan and cosponsored by ISESCO and UNESCO to be held in Baku on 10-11 June 2008. Azerbaijan is also planning to host the 4th Session of the Islamic Conference of Ministers of Higher Education and Scientific Research in September 2008.

I also would like to reiterate that establishment and further development of the OIC Groups in non-OIC capitals and international organizations have been an important dimension of Azerbaijan's ICFM Chairmanship. As you are aware, the OIC Groups in Vienna, Brussels, Geneva, Paris, New York and Washington are fully functional and engaged in developing common positions of the Member States on a number of issues and presenting them to the host countries and the relevant international organizations.

In recent years, Azerbaijan has participated in humanitarian assistance programmes through the OIC and UN frameworks and reconfirms its willingness to continue providing humanitarian assistance to the extent possible.

Excellencies,

The current situation in a number of the OIC Member States, which face numerous risks and threats, remains a source of deep concern to us. Towards this end, the Member States, as mandated by the OIC Ten-Year Programme of Action, need to reaffirm their commitment to Islamic solidarity and increase their support to those in need.

We remain concerned with the situation in Palestine, especially in the Gaza Strip. Once again, Azerbaijan reaffirms its support to brotherly people of Palestine and their efforts to achieve peace, stability, and establishment of sovereign and independent Palestinian State, with Al-Quds as its capital. I would like to stress, that the Palestinian issue needs closer and focused attention of the Member States. Taking this opportunity, I would like to reiterate our gratitude and appreciation to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia for his initiative to reach the agreement on national unity in Palestine. We also highly value the work of the OIC Secretary General and his staff to consolidate our Organization in providing much needed assistance to population in the Gaza Strip.

Azerbaijan encourages all Member States to maintain their efforts to achieve settlement of the conflicts in the Islamic world based on the norms and principles of international law. In this context, I would like to reiterate our support to the efforts of the Governments of Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Somalia, Sudan, and other Member States to restore peace and stability in these countries.

We also reaffirm our support to the Muslim communities and minorities around the world. In this context, I would like to express our support to the latest initiatives by the President of Pakistan launched at bilateral level with India in moving forward the resolution of Kashmir dispute, and to express our concern with the continuing unjust isolation of Turkish Cypriots.

Dear friends,

I would like to express once again Azerbaijan's sincere gratitude to the Islamic Ummah and the OIC Secretary General for their support of the just cause of Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia, and to eliminate the consequences of the armed aggression by Armenia, which has resulted in the violation of our territorial integrity and occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory by Armenian military. We strongly urge international community to condemn Armenian aggression and to support Azerbaijan in its efforts to restore its sovereignty over the Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied regions.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today, in few hours, the draft resolution entitled "The situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan" will be voted on in the plenary session of the United Nations General Assembly. I appeal to all member states of the OIC to vote in favor of this draft. Your positive vote will be a demonstration of the Islamic Solidarity and brotherly support to my country's just cause.

Excellencies,

A new wave of malicious attacks against Islam in some European countries confirms vital necessity to strengthen our joint efforts to counter Islamophobia. It is also important that we act in a proactive way, rather than just responding to such manifestations. In this context, the use of official diplomatic channels could be effectively augmented through involvement of media and Muslim communities in non-Muslim countries. Efforts to present true and correct image of Islam and its values to non-Muslim world need to be coordinated through appropriate OIC structures. We should also encourage more active dialogue with individual countries and international organizations to correct misconceptions. Preservation of the unity of Ummah and prevention of ideological conflicts among us is becoming indispensable in this context.

Excellencies,

We strongly believe that the current process of reforms within the OIC has to be continued. The elaboration of the new Charter will establish strong background for OIC's future development. This comprehensive document should adjust the mechanisms of our Organization, increase efficiency of the institutions of the OIC family, and improve our working methods to address effectively risks and challenges faced by Ummah.

We also believe that economic, cultural and humanitarian fields remain important dimensions of cooperation among the Member States. Integration, joint regional projects and initiatives, new opportunities for the benefit of our peoples in these fields would require further support and commitment from all Member States.

Excellencies,

In conclusion, I would like to express our gratitude to OIC Secretary General Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu for his outstanding work for the benefit of Islamic Ummah. I would like to underline his unparalleled work on the new OIC Charter, numerous initiatives, and efforts to implement the OIC Ten-year Programme of Action.

Finally, I would like once again to convey my wishes of success to the incoming Senegalese Chairmanship and reconfirm our determination to support its work.

Regards