OIC inforamtion ministers conclude meeting in Gabon

The Ninth Conference of the Information Ministers of the member states in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) concluded in the Gabonese capital, Libreville on Friday. A number of ministers and heads of delegations took part in the two-day meeting. The conference paid a great emphasis on the cause of Palestine, denouncing Israeli occupational practices and urged the world community to grant the Palestinian people their legitimate rights, including the establishment of an independent state on the Palestinian territories with Al-Quds as its capital. They lauded UNESCO's decision recognizing the State of Palestine. The conferees lauded the OIC secretariat general for holding a workshop in Brussels titled 'the defaming of Islam and Muslims profile in the western media last February. They approved a proposal submitted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to establish a special fund to promote Islamic external media worth $25 million to be financed by the OIC member countries. The meeting also approved the re-structuring of the International Islamic News Agency and the Islamic Broadcasting Union and provide necessary finance for them. The conference called for the formation of Muslim Media Representatives Forum and the implementation of a special information program for the African continent to highlight its role in the Islamic world. The meeting stated the great importance of a recommendation submitted by the Kingdom of Morocco regarding the work to combat the defaming of the profile of religions and called on the member states in the OIC to support an initiative calling on the United Nations to support a call for all members of the UN to respect all religions and give positive profiles for them in the media and not to tamper the religious figures and sanctuaries. The conference called for bringing about peace and security in the Coast and Desert region, rejecting the security and stability of Sudan, and called for no-division of the Republic of Mali.