The Jakarta OIC Summit

The Jakarta OIC Summit

Dr. Jassim Taqui

All preparations have been finalized to hold OIC summit conference on March 6-7 in Jakarta. The conference would address six unresolved core issues on the dispute between Palestine and Israel. The issues pertain to: fixing the border, addressing the issue of over 4 million Palestinian refugees who live since 1947 beyond the country’s border, resolving the status of Jerusalem, ending the deteriorating living conditions of Palestinians in East Jerusalem and to discussing security measures in the region.

The summit will be attended by 56 member countries along with the representatives of the Quartet ( United States, Russia, UN and European Union), UN Security Council as well as observer countries.

The summit provides a unique opportunity to bring about a reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran on the basis of respecting Saudi territorial integrity, sovereignty and non-interference in its internal affairs.

One also hopes that serious efforts should be made to end the war in Yemen. In this regard, the OIC countries should establish a special fund to rescue the people of Yemen from starvation and untold miseries. The fund can also be used subsequently to reconstruct Yemen.

Ending the war in Yemen would consolidate the war on terror since ISIS and  Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have exploited the war and establish their presence there , posing tremendous threat to regional and international peace and security.