Islamic Solidarity Fund Permanent Council – Start of proceedings of 50th session – OIC Press release


PRESS RELEASE

 

Start of the Proceedings of the 50th Session of the Permanent Council of the Islamic Solidarity Fund in Jeddah

 

PROFESSOR EKMELEDDIN IHSANOGLU URGES THE MEMBER STATES TO SUPPORT THE FUND TO IMPLEMENT MORE VITAL PROJECTS

 

 

          Paying tribute to the assistance extended by the Islamic Solidarity Fund (ISF) to the Palestinian people in developmental, educational, and cultural spheres, Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), emphasized that the continued Israeli occupation policy and Israel’s persistence in usurping the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people make it a must for the ISF and other Islamic bodies to mobilize more support for the steadfast Palestinian people and their struggle in all fields.

 

          Moving on to commend the ISF's action in funding developmental, educational, and cultural projects in the OIC Member States and elsewhere aimed at building a better reality for Muslims, the Secretary-General also praised the ISF's accomplishments in financing symposia and conferences to promote the radiant image of Islam and Islamic culture, making a special mention of the ISF's constructive contribution to further dialogue with other civilizations in line with the Dialogue among Civilizations initiative, which was launched by the OIC and has met with wide international acclaim.

 

          The Secretary-General’s tribute came in his speech, which was delivered on his behalf by the Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Izzet Kamel Mufti, to the 50th Session of the ISF Permanent Council, which  started this morning, Tuesday 22 March 2005, at the seat of the OIC General Secretariat in Jeddah.

 

          Professor Ihsanoglu regretted, nevertheless, the ISF's incapacity of early response to catastrophes such as Tsunami, due to the lack of resources allocated to emergencies in its budget for natural disasters. A mechanism should be developed, he said, to ensure early response by the ISF's Emergency Committee to such needs and look into ways to increase ISF funding sources.

 

          Professor Ihsanoglu took this opportunity to make a passionate appeal to all the Member States to generously contribute to the Islamic Solidarity Fund within their means. The OIC General Secretariat, he explained, will be working to arrange meetings for donation pledges alongside the next Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers in Sana’a in order to encourage the OIC Member States and charitable societies to donate actively in favor of the ISF and its Waqf and complete the ISF Waqf’s capital, which has so far realized about 67% of its target, so that it can fulfill its primary objective of guaranteeing a fixed and viable income for the ISF.

 

          In its present session running over the course of the next two days, the ISF Permanent Council—comprised of thirteen Member States—will be addressing a number of issues, including the current financial position of the ISF and its Waqf, the ISF's draft estimated budget for the financial year 2004-2005, the financial situation of the two Islamic universities of Niger and Uganda, the latter’s accumulated debts, and the King Fahd Plaza Center in Kampala, as well as assistance to a number of Islamic institutions in support of their developmental projects.

Jeddah: 22 March 2005.


Document Type: Press Release
Document Sources: Islamic Solidarity Fund, Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)
Subject: Assistance, Palestine question, Social issues
Publication Date: 22/03/2005
2019-03-12T18:19:32-04:00

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