The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu made an unprecedented first visit by an OIC secretary general to the Muslim-majority Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and the Muslim-majority autonomous region of Ningxia, and toured the historical city of Kashgar, during his eight-day official tour of China that concluded on Tuesday. The visit was especially significant because China is known for its categorical rejection of any foreign interference in the affairs of its ethnic minorities. According to informed OIC sources, Ihsanoglu toured the mosques and religious sites in Kashgar. In his meeting with the city's municipality chief, Akbar Ghofur, the Secretary General reiterated the need to preserve the traditional nature of Kashgar and stressed that economic industrial expansion should not come at the expense of the cultural heritage of the city which is one of the most outstanding historical cities in West China and Central Asia. The Secretary General walked on the streets of Urumqi, mingling with the people, listening to their comments and chatting with them. He also took stock of the situation of Muslims on the ground when he visited the Islamic Institute in Urumqi. He met with its administration authorities and toured its different departments. Ihsanoglu met with Nour Bakry, the Governor of the Region, and several senior officials who briefed him on the conditions of Muslims and the progress of development projects in Xinjiang, which are meant for its advancement, given the gap separating it from the rest of the Chinese regions. Such a gap was said to be one of the reasons contributing to the congestion which led to clashes between the Uygur Muslims and Chinese Han last year. Similarly, the Secretary General listened to the detailed explanation by Bakry on the conditions and constitutional rights enjoyed by the Uygur Muslims under the central government of the Region. Bakry said that the Chinese Central Government had held a meeting a month prior to Ihsanoglu's visit, in which, it brought together government and regional officials as well as businessmen in order to address how to respond to the needs of Xinjiang. He added that the May 2010 meeting decided to implement and develop investment projects in 19 Xinjiang municipalities, amounting to 10 billion Chinese yuan over the next 10 years. The city is currently witnessing a great urban development, making it the largest in West China. The Chinese parliament speaker had, upon the commencement of the visit, stressed his country's resolve to bridge the economic gap between the two halves of China by 2015 and to reach equal growth rates in East and West China, as the latter suffers low rates of economic growth and high rates of unemployment.
