OIC announces next Islamic Summit in Egypt

Cairo, June 30, SPA -- Secretary General of the Organization of
Islamic Conference (OIC) Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu announced here today
that the next OIC Summit will be held in Egypt in 2011.


In a press statement, Ihsanoglu noted that the summit will be
preceded by a meeting of Islamic Foreign Ministers in Syria next
year.


Ihsanoglu, who is participating in the summit of the African Union now in progress in Sharm El-Sheikh as an observer, pointed out that OIC attaches great importance to Africa, adding that 26 African
countries are members of the OIC.


As regards the food problem in the world, he said the OIC could
positively contribute to solving this problem because the OIC's
member states own large areas of lands as well as big quantities of
water.


Commenting on the OIC stand vis-à-vis the Iranian nuclear issue; Ihsanoglu believed that each of the OIC's member states has the right to acquire nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.


He pointed out that the Muslim countries notably the Middle East countries have the right to have a region which is free from the
nuclear weapons.


Pointing out to the Israeli nuclear arsenal, he said the
international community should not have a dual stand as regards the
nuclear issue.