Hassan Cheruppa Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – The 12th Islamic Summit, which will begin in Cairo Wednesday, is expected to formally endorse the appointment of former minister of culture and information Iyad Madani as the new Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Saudi Gazette learnt from OIC sources. Madani will replace Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the current secretary-general, whose term expires in 2014. There were three potential contenders from the African continent for the post, but all of them withdrew in favor of Iyad Madani. Meanwhile, a two-day meeting of the senior officials from the OIC member countries started in Cairo Saturday morning. The officials are reviewing all the topics on the agenda of the summit with the theme of “Muslim world: New challenges and expanding opportunities.” The meeting will approve the draft agenda and work program of the two-day Preparatory Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers, which will start on Monday. Ambassador Amr Ramadan, assistant foreign minister of Egypt for international relations, told reporters that the heads of state and leaders from the Islamic world will hold a special session to discuss the situation in Palestine in the wake of Israel's plan to expand Jewish settlements in the occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank. The summit's draft resolution on Palestine called for holding a donors' conference to finance the OIC strategic plan to develop Jerusalem and immediate measures to rebuild the war-ravaged Gaza Strip. Apart from Palestine, there are five major topics on the agenda of the summit. They are conflict in the Islamic world with a special focus on Syria and Mali, combatting Islamophobia, humanitarian situation in the Islamic world, enhancing economic cooperation among member states, and promoting scientific, cultural and technological cooperation in the Islamic world. On the topic of conflict, the summit will also discuss the situations in Somalia, Afghanistan, Sudan and Kashmir.
