Shoukry receives ambassadors of the OIC member states  

Foreign Mini   ster Sameh Shoukry asserted Egypt’s support for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and its role in defending the interests of the Islamic world.

In statements, Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Ahmed Abu Zeid said that Shoukry received, 10-4-2023, the ambassadors of the OIC member states accredited to Egypt within the framework of Egypt’s keenness to communicate with the OIC member states, strengthen cooperation with them and post them on the Egyptian stands towards issues of concern to the Islamic world.

At the beginning of the meeting, Shoukry said for years, Egypt has been underscoring the importance of supporting and developing the organization’s work mechanisms to keep pace with the requirements of the modern era.

This aims at helping the OIC to assume its international status and making its decisions to have an impact on the international arena as they reflect the interests of the peoples of the Islamic world, Shoukry added.

He called on the organization’s member states to benefit from the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding in (CCCPA) in promoting international and regional peace and security by building the capabilities of the member states with the view to enhancing cooperation in the fields of peacekeeping, peacebuilding, conflict settlement, dialogue, negotiation and mediation.

The diplomats also discussed the file of terrorism, stressing the need to adopt a comprehensive approach to address the root causes of terrorism and extremism.

They underlined the important role played by Al Azhar Al Sharif and Al Azhar Observatory for Combating Extremism (AOCE) in promoting moderate religious discourse in conformity with the upright teachings of religion.

In his speech, Shoukry talked about the phenomenon of Islamophobia and discrimination, which Muslims are subjected to in the West on the pretext of freedom of opinion and freedom of expression.

This matter leads to a violent reaction accusing the Islamic world of being responsible for terrorism and thus, it is necessary to call for tangible and swift measures to fight anti-Islamic practices that pose a serious threat to the rights of Muslim minorities in European countries and can lead to gross violations of human rights, Shoukry said.

During the meeting, Shoukry opened the door to dialogue with the ambassadors of the OIC countries, the spokesman said, noting that a number of them lauded the Egyptian government’s keenness on preserving the Islamic heritage and defending issues related to the Islamic world, under the leadership of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi.