Iran Foreign Minister arrives in Jakarta for OIC meeting

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrived in the Indonesian capital on Sunday morning to attend the extraordinary summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Palestine and Al Quds Al Sharif to be held today.

Zarif is also to meet with Indonesian officials on bilateral issues, Iranian IRNA news agency reported.

The Iranian foreign minister heading an eco-political delegation started his Southeast Asia and Oceania tour on Saturday evening.

According to a statement from Indonesia's Foreign Affairs Ministry, more than 500 delegates from the 49 OIC member states, five UN Security Council representatives, as well as three observer countries confirmed they would attend the summit.

Senior officials will meet on Sunday while high-level meetings between heads of states will be held on Monday.

The summit is being held at the request of Palestine, after violence escalated in the occupied territories in recent months over Israel's restriction of access to the Al-Aqsa mosque in Beitulmuqaddis, which is the third-holiest site in Islam, the statement said.

“This high-level summit is expected to push international forums to prioritize the issue of Palestine and Al Quds Al Sharif as the situation [there] is worrying,” Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said in the statement.

Participants are expected to produce a resolution to reaffirm the principal position of OIC member countries in supporting an independent Palestine.

Iran's Zarif will fly to Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, New Zealand and Australia after his Indonesian visit.

Source : MENA