Azerbaijan's Deputy FM Yalchin Rafiyev attends OIC foreign ministers' extraordinary meeting

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Yalchin Rafiyev participated in the 23rd extraordinary meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Report that the meeting was held at the OIC headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The agenda of the extraordinary meeting included the election of a new OIC Secretary-General, as well as issues concerning Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif.

At the beginning of the event, a relevant decision on the election of the new OIC Secretary-General was unanimously adopted. According to the decision, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, former Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania and the sole candidate for the position, was elected as the new OIC Secretary-General.

Speaking at the meeting, Yalchin Rafiyev congratulated the new Secretary-General on his appointment and expressed Azerbaijan's full support for him during his tenure. At the same time, he thanked outgoing OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha for his effective work during his term.

In his speech, Rafiyev touched upon the prospects for the development of the OIC as an important international institution and the tasks facing it. Recalling that Azerbaijan will host the OIC Summit of Heads of State and Government in 2027 and assume the chairmanship of the organization, the deputy minister said Azerbaijan would work closely with the new Secretary-General to advance the organization's interests and further expand cooperation among member states.

Regarding the Palestine issue on the meeting's agenda, Azerbaijan's unchanged and principled position, the importance of respect for the rule of international law, as well as the assistance provided by Azerbaijan to the Palestinian people, particularly in education and healthcare, were highlighted.

Rafiyev noted that the official visit of Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa to Azerbaijan in July this year had opened new opportunities for economic cooperation between the two countries.