JEDDAH
Iyad Madani succeeded Eklemeddin Ihsanoglu as the new Secretary General of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the 57-member grouping of the Muslim countries.
Former Saudi Foreign Minister Iyad Madani on Monday took over formally as secretary general of OIC in Jeddah.
Eklemeddin Ihsaonoglu, who served as secretary general of OIC since 2005, said that he “dedicated himself to Islam and would continue to work for the Muslim world with all his power.”
Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Naci Koru, Turkish Consul General Fikret Ozer and senior Saudi diplomats also attended the handover ceremony.
“OIC has succeeded well in Ihsanoglu’s term and he introduced the organization to the world,” said Iyad Madani.
- Second largest organization after UN
“It became a well accepted truth that OIC is the second largest international organization after UN,” said Ihsanoglu.
The ongoing and achieved projects in Ihsanoglu’s term were explained to the attendants and compared with the efforts of the previous OIC Secretary General.
Organization of Islamic Cooperation is headquartered in Saudi Arabia and funded by Islamic nations across the world. It is the second largest inter-governmental organisation after the United Nations and has membership of 57 states spread over four continents.
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