Saudi king invites Hasina to OIC meet
Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has invited Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the 14th Islamic Summit of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to be held at Makkah at the end of Ramadan.
“To this end, acting Saudi ambassador in Dhaka Amer Omer Salem Omar handed over an invitation letter to the prime minister at the Gono Bhaban this [yesterday] morning,” said PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim.
He said the PM accepted the invitation and assured the Saudi envoy of her presence in the summit.
The envoy told the PM that the Saudi king cordially invited her to the OIC summit and conveyed his Ramadan greetings.
Hasina extended her sincere thanks to the Saudi king for his invitation.
Expressing satisfaction over the existing bilateral ties between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia, the PM said Bangladesh has a special relation with Saudi Arabia now. “We put special values on our relations with Saudi Arabia.”
In reply, the acting Saudi ambassador said his country also places values on the bilateral relations with Bangladesh, said the PM’s press secretary.
PM’s Principal Secretary Md Nojibur Rahman, Military Secretary Major General Mia Mohammad Zainul Abedin and PMO Secretary Sajjadul Hassan were present.
Heads of state and government of 57 countries from the OIC will participate in the summit, except for Syria, whose membership has been suspended.
The summit is expected to discuss a series of key issues, with the Palestinian cause at the forefront.
The Makkah statement is also set to include several major points that serve the best interest of the Islamic countries, while stressing the importance of OIC member states’ commitment to reinforcing unity and solidarity.
The 14th summit comes three years after the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers held an urgent meeting to discuss the ballistic missiles targeting Makkah.
The 13th meeting took place in Istanbul, Turkey, in April 2016 and 50 states attended the meeting.
The OIC is the second biggest international governmental organisation after the UN, with membership of 57 states from four continents. It represents the Islamic world and seeks to protect its interests.