The Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu met in Riyadh Guido Westerwelle, the Foreign Minister of Germany, who is currently on an official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. During the meeting, the Foreign Minister expressed his interest in learning from the OIC experience dealing with critical international issues. He also expressed Germany's readiness to intensify its bilateral relations with the OIC through exchange of views and sharing ideas. The Secretary General briefed the German Minister on the current activities of the Organization within the framework of the OIC Ten-Year Program of Action and the OIC Charter especially in the areas of human rights, advancement of women and socio-economic development. He also gave the Foreign Minister a brief account on the extent of OIC's relations with the non-OIC countries as well as the OIC-EU relations. A significant portion of their discussion centered on Palestine and the Middle East Peace Process. The Secretary General invited the Foreign Minister to exert more efforts through the European Union to bring the Peace Process back on track. Their discussion also touched on other political issues notably the situation in Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia. The Foreign Minister invited the Secretary General to visit Germany at his earliest convenience. On his part, the Secretary General thanked the Minister and invited him to visit the OIC headquarters during his next visit to Saudi Arabia. The Minister accepted the invitation. Both leaders agreed to strengthen further the cooperation between the OIC and Germany in the days to come.
