On July 10-11, 2017 the Delegation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan took part in the 44th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Abidjan (the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire).

After the report on the results of the chairmanship of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in 2016-2017, which was held under the slogan “Education and enlightenment - path to peace and creativity”, the ceremony of the official transfer of the chairmanship for 2017-2018 to the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire was held.

The delegations of the OIC Member States discussed topical issues of the organization’s activities and adopted resolutions on political, legal, organizational, social and economic, cultural and humanitarian issues.

On the initiative of Uzbekistan, supported by other countries, special resolutions “On the Imam Bukhari International Research Center in Samarkand” and “On the establishment of the Special Chair of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) in the structure of the Tashkent Islamic University” were adopted. Thus, the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers again approved the proposals of the Head of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, which were suggested on October 18, 2016 at the 43rd Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in Tashkent.

In the speeches of the Secretary General Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen and the heads of the delegation of the Member States of the Organization, special attention was paid to the successful outcome of the 43rd Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers in Tashkent and the whole of Uzbekistan’s chairmanship in 2016-2017.

In particular, on the initiative of the Uzbek side, Department for work with youth was created in the OIC General Secretariat to implement the taken decisions.

In the speech of the President of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire Allasane Dramane Ouattara, the slogan of the Ivorian chairmanship “Youth, Peace and Development in a World of Solidarity” was put forward, which is a logical continuation of the initiatives during the chairmanship of Uzbekistan.

During the 44th Session, the new members of the OIC Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) were elected. From Uzbekistan, the Director of the National Center for Human Rights of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Chairman of the Committee of the Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis on Democratic Institutions, NGOs and citizens’ self-government bodies Akmal Saidov was elected as a member of the Commission for a three-year period.

During the visit to Cote d’Ivoire, the delegation of the Republic of Uzbekistan met and held bilateral negotiations with the Secretary General of the OIC Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen, the Minister for Climate Change and the Environment of the United Arab Emirates Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Sartaj Aziz, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia Retno Lestari Priansari Marsudi, the Director of External Relations and Cooperation of the ISESCO Ahmed Ould Bah.

At the meetings, the sides discussed the state and perspective directions for the development of cooperation in various fields.