China seeks to be OIC observer
In a significant development, China has officially desired to be made an observer member at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Jeddah-based 57-member group of Islamic nations.
China’s deputy foreign minister Jhaa Jane told visiting OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu in Beijing on Wednesday that his country desired to obtain the observer member status at the group. “He expressed his country’s desire to know the list of criteria required for becoming an observer member in the OIC, voicing hope that China could get this membership in the forthcoming meeting of the OIC council of foreign ministers in Djibouti,” a spokesperson for Mr Ihsanoglu told this newspaper.
If Beijing’s call is conceded, it will leave a huge impact on the region’s political and diplomatic scene as despite having the historic, strategic, economical and cultural relationship with many OIC countries, particularly those in the Gulf, India has not been on healthy terms with the group mainly because of the traditional disputes with Pakistan. It has openly hit out at the OIC for supporting UN demands for a plebiscite in Kashmir. However, the desire within the country and by some of the member nations to end India’s isolation in the OIC is growing. Reports said that the OIC, on the other hand, has urged Beijing to use its influence and relations with Burma towards ensuring safety and protection of the rights of minority Rohingya Muslims in the light of recent violence perpetrated against them.
The OIC Secretary-General, who is on a two-day visit to China, his second since the summer of 2010, is expected to meet a number of Chinese officials, and will officiate the first OIC congress on China and the Muslim world. At his meeting with China’s deputy foreign minister on Wednesday, the latter, on behalf of his country, pledged to enhance the economic and cultural relations with Islamic countries, pointing out that China enjoys high confidence by the OIC member states, in particular for its support for the crucial issues in West Asia and the rights of these countries in international forums.
He was quoted as saying that the Islamic countries are amongst the most important global trading partners for China, pointing out that the volume of trade exchange between the two sides reached half-a-trillion dollars in 2011, ranking second place after the European Union.
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