OIC Secretary General Received by Prime Minister, President of the Republic and Foreign Minister in Bangladesh

4/08/2017- On the first day of his official visit, the Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Dr. Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen was received on Thursday, August 3, 2017 by the Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina at her office. The two sides discussed a wide range of issues of common interests with particular focus on the worsening situation of the Rohingya refugees and the fight against the scourge of terrorism and violent extremism.

Dr. Al-Othaimeen thanked Bangladesh for providing shelter to a huge number of Rohingya refugees and highlighted the need for interfaith dialogue among the Muslim leaders and the Buddhist communities which may help to promote harmony and common understanding. The Prime Minister while lamenting the deplorable and inhumane living conditions of the Rohingya in their refugee camps announced her Government’s plan to develop a new living area with more decent conditions on an island to temporarily relocate the refugees pending the ultimate resolution of the long standing crisis.

During his meeting with H.E President M. Abdul Hamid, the Secretary General appreciated Bangladesh's tremendous socioeconomic development under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He denounced the menace of terrorism and extremism and said Islam as a religion of peace and tolerance has nothing to do with violence. The President stressed the need for joint efforts of the Muslim Ummah to resolve the problems of Palestinians and the issue of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

In his meeting with the Foreign Minister H.E Ali Mahmoud, Dr. Al-Othaimeen appreciated Bangladesh's increasingly important role in the activities of the OIC and its decision to host two important events of the Organization - the OIC Tourism Ministers' meeting in November this year and the 45th OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) meeting in the first half of next year. The Minister emphasized on the need to increase intra-OIC trade and investment, development of tourism and cooperation in the areas of science, technology, education, human resources capacity building and social security.

Finally, the Secretary General paid a courtesy call on the Leader of the Opposition Party in Parliament Honourable Rowshan Ershad.

Dr. Al-Othaimeen arrived Dhaka in the evening of Wednesday, August 2, on a three-day official trip. On Friday, August 4, he will visit the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar in Southern Bangladesh to see for himself the situation on the ground.

Source: http://www.oic-oci.org/topic/?t_id=13885&t_ref=6031&lan=en