Saudi Arabia seeks consensus on Afghanistan at OIC summit in Pakistan

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation's Council of Foreign Ministers met Dec.19 in Pakistan. With a membership of 57 states across four continents, the OIC is the world's second largest organization after the United Nations. The council is one of the forum's key bodies.

In addition to foreign ministers and other envoys from member states, the conference brought together representatives from the United Nations and the members of its Security Council, European Union and several other nonmember countries like Japan and Germany as well as global financial institutions and international and regional organizations.

Addressing the assembly, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud expressed the OIC's solidarity with Afghanistan, whose people “have suffered too long.” OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha affirmed the OIC Mission in Kabul’s plans to carry out relief efforts in Afghanistan, informed the attendees, that the OIC is "ready" to "play its role in supporting humanitarian action in coordination with the relevant OIC missions and relief agencies across the Muslim world.”

Expressing his intention to work with humanitarian groups there, US special representative for Afghanistan Tom West also said he hoped to find mechanisms to deliver aid. As a harsh winter takes shape, 60% of Afghanistan’s population of 38 million faces “crisis levels of hunger,” according to UN estimates. The World Food Programme has warned that 3.2 million children there could face acute malnutrition.