OIC's Islamabad meet - salience and significance Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

Fifty-three years ago, Muslim countries from Asia and Africa established the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) to help realize Palestinian rights and freedom. Later renamed as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the OIC has since evolved into the second largest international organization after the United Nations, representing 57 countries and nearly 2 billion people from four continents. United by faith and shared civilizational and cultural heritage, the OIC is an important global stakeholder on political, social and economic issues of our time.

As a founding member, Pakistan has always demonstrated its strong support for the OIC objectives, ideals and aspirations. From hosting OIC summits and ministerial meetings to reforming and strengthening of its institutions, from mobilizing political support to catalyzing humanitarian assistance, Pakistan has been a proud and leading partner in OIC's journey that spans more than half a century now. Pakistan is once again honoured to host the 48th Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) on 22-23 March 2022.

In line with the guiding principle enshrined in Pakistan's own Constitution, the over-arching goal of the Islamabad Conference will be "to preserve and strengthen fraternal relations among Muslim countries based on Islamic unity". Since the founding days of the OIC, the Muslim countries have come a long way in harnessing their immense human potential and natural resources. The OIC institutions have played an important support role in these advancements. Yet, much more needs to be done to meet the development aspirations of our peoples in a fast changing world.

Together, the OIC countries represent nearly a quarter of the world population, but contribute just over 8% to global GDP. From the West African coasts to East Asia, our countries possess rich natural resources and human talent; dynamic start-ups, entrepreneurs and scientists; and huge untapped opportunities for trade through land, sea and digital connectivity. Our geographic contiguity represents both opportunities and challenges.

The contemporary global conversations from geopolitics and security to economy, climate change, public health and SDGs are as relevant to us as any other groupings or countries. Today, bulk of the displaced persons - refugees and migrants seeking better opportunities, originate from Muslim countries. Many of these are young people with skills and education. At the same time, the OIC...