OIC: Leaders hopeful of Bangladesh's political stability under Tarique

The global leaders, who attended the executive meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), have expressed the confidence that Bangladesh will speedily attain political stability and accelerated development under the able leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

They expressed full support to Bangladesh's candidature for the Presidency of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Foreign Minister and Bangladesh candidate for the UNGA Presidency Dr Khalilur Rahman, held bilateral meetings with leaders of a number of key participating delegations on the sidelines of the executive meeting of the OIC on Palestine in Jeddah and discussed issues of common interest, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday.

They include Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar of Pakistan, Vice Foreign Minister Waleed A Elkhreiji of Saudi Arabia, Deputy Foreign Minister of Turkey Musa Kulaklikaya, Foreign Minister Dr Varsen Ohanes Vartan Aghabekian and Foreign Minister Sering Modou Njie of Gambia, who is also the Chair of the Executive Meeting.

Palestine has already withdrawn its candidature for the presidency of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) for the 2026–2027 term.

Following the withdrawal of the Palestinian candidature, Bangladesh will now compete with Cyprus.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has nominated Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur for the position, said the source.

The leaders of the delegations, during meetings with Foreign Minister Dr Rahman, conveyed their heartiest congratulations to Prime Minister Tarique on the massive victory of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and his assumption of the responsibility as Prime Minister of Bangladesh.

They also commended Bangladesh for its unwavering commitment to the cause of Palestine.

Pak PM keen to visit Bangladesh

Pakistan's Foreign Minister warmly recalled his meeting with the late Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia last year.

He said Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif eagerly look forward to visiting Bangladesh to personally great Prime Minister Tarique.

Foreign Minister Dar expressed the hope that under the new government in Dhaka the relationship between the two countries will steadily prosper.

Turkish support appreciated

Turkish Minister Kulaklikaya recalled the historical relationship between Turkey and Bangladesh and hoped that the relationship between the two countries will expand steadily in multiple sectors in the coming days.

Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman expressed sincere thanks to him for the help and support Turkey has been giving to the Rohingya refugees.

The two sides resolved to work together to advance an early resolution of the issue.

Foreign Minister Rahman handed over to the Turkish Minister an invitation address to Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to visit Bangladesh after Ramadan.

Saudis keen to welcome PM

The Saudi Minister expressed the hope that Prime Minister Tarique would visit the Kingdom at a convenient time in the near future.

He also extended an invitation to Foreign Minister Rahman to visit Riyadh.

He said the 'Vision 2030' of Saudi Arabia offered many opportunities for Bangladesh in a wide range of sectors.

He expressed his government's readiness to work with Bangladesh in this regard. Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman pointed out that there are important opportunities for Saudi Arabia to invest in Bangladesh.

The two sides resolved to work together to realise these potentials.

Minister Elkhereiji also requested Bangladesh's support to undertake major reforms to enhance the performance of the OIC Secretariat.

Unwavering support to Palestinians

During the meeting with the Palestinian Foreign Minister Aghabekian, the Foreign Minister reiterated Bangladesh's unwavering support to the cause of the Palestinian people.

He stressed that the only solution to the Palestinian issue is the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state with the pre-1967 border and East Jerusalem as its capital.

The Palestinian Foreign Minister lauded Bangladesh for its strong and consistent support to the Palestinian cause.

The Palestinian Minister said that the Arab-Islamic flow will be for Bangladeshi candidature.

Rohingya crisis

Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman offered sincere thanks to Foreign Minister Njie of Gambia for his government's continued active support to the cause of the Rohingya people, including the case it brought before the International Court of Justice against Myanmar for committing genocide against the Rohingyas.

He said Bangladesh stood ready to support the important work of Gambia for the Rohingyas.

Both sides agreed to hold an event on the Rohingya issue during the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Baghdad in April this year.

Foreign Minister Njie expressed full support to Bangladesh's candidate for the UNGA Presidency and offered to work with other African countries in support of it.

Humayun Kabir, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Mollah Farhad Hossain, Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and MJH Jabed, Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to OIC, were present during the meetings.