Saudi King invites PM to 14th Islamic Summit

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has invited Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to attend the 14th Islamic Summit of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to be held at Makkah at the end of Ramadan.

“Acting Saudi Ambassador in Dhaka Amer Omer Salem Omar handed over an invitation letter to this end to the prime minister at the latter’s official Ganabhaban residence here this morning,” PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim said.

He said the prime minister accepted the invitation and assured her presence in the summit.

The envoy told the prime minister that the Saudi King cordially invited her to join the OIC summit and conveyed his (the King) Ramadan greetings.

Sheikh Hasina extended her sincere thanks to the Saudi King for his invitation.

Expressing satisfaction over the existing bilateral ties between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia, the premier said Bangladesh has a special relation with Saudi Arabia now.

“We give special values to our relations with Saudi Arabia,” she added.

In reply, the acting Saudi ambassador said his country also gives values to the bilateral relations with Bangladesh.

PM’s Principal Secretary Md Nojibur Rahman, Military Secretary Major General Mia Mohammad Zainul Abedin and PMO Secretary Sajjadul Hassan were present.

The 14th Islamic Summit is expected to be held in Makkah at the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Heads of state and government of 57 countries from the OIC will attend the summit, except for Syria, whose membership has been suspended.

The summit is expected to discuss a series of key issues, with the Palestinian cause at the forefront.

The Makkah statement is also set to include several major points that serve the best interest of the Islamic countries, while stressing the importance of OIC member states’ commitment to reinforcing unity and solidarity.

The 14th summit comes three years after the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers held an urgent meeting to discuss the ballistic missiles targeting the holy city of Makkah.

The 13th meeting took place in Istanbul, Turkey in April 2016 and 50 states attended the meeting.

The OIC is the second biggest international governmental organization after the UN, with membership of 57 states from four continents. It represents the Islamic world and seeks to protect its interests.