Jeddah (UNA-OIC) – Prior to hosting the current session of the Foreign Ministers Conference of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), scheduled for 22-23 March 2022, Pakistan had hosted seven conferences of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, four of which were ordinary and three were extraordinary ones.
The Second Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers, held in Karachi on 26-28 December 1970, was the first ordinary conference hosted by Pakistan with the participation of more than 23 member states. The conference witnessed the appointment of Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj of Malaysia as OIC Secretary-General, and discussed proposals related to the establishment of some OIC specialized organs, including the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB).
Then, from May 17 to 22, 1980, the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, hosted the 11th Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers, with the participation of 39 member states. The conference discussed many political, economic and cultural issues of concern to Islamic countries, and adopted important resolutions.
On 25-29 April 1993, Karachi hosted the 21st Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers with the participation of 51 member states, and in the presence of a number of international and regional organizations.
On 15-17 May 2007, Islamabad hosted the 34th Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (Session of Peace, Progress and Harmony) with the participation of 54 member states. The conference witnessed the issuance of several important decisions and recommendations related to economic and scientific affairs, including the call upon member states to contribute at least 1% of their GDP to promote science and technology, as well as taking all practical steps to accelerate the transformation of their economies into a knowledge-based economy, and to promote integration in information and communications technology (ICT).
As for emergency and extraordinary conferences, the Pakistani capital hosted the first conference of this kind on 27-29 January 1980, at the request of the Republic of Bangladesh to discuss developments in the then Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan.
Islamabad also hosted the Seventh Extraordinary Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers on 7-9 September 1994, which was held at the request of Pakistan to discuss issues of concern to the Islamic world.
On December 19, 2021, Islamabad hosted the 17th Extraordinary Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, at the initiative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Chair of the Islamic Summit, to discuss developments in Afghanistan and the humanitarian conditions of the Afghan people. This conference witnessed historic decisions, including the approval of establishing a humanitarian trust fund for Afghanistan in order to address the deepening economic crisis in the country.
