DHAKA, 18 April 2004 — Pakistan and Bangladesh would jointly chalk out a strategy to step up the campaign in favor of Dhaka’s bid for the coveted post of the secretary-general of the Jeddah-based Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Pakistan Foreign Secretary Riaz Khokar arrives in Dhaka today on a three-day visit to Bangladesh and will discuss with his Bangladesh counterpart ways and means to persuade Turkey and Malaysia to withdraw from the race, diplomatic and official sources said in Dhaka yesterday.
During the visit, officially termed here “a goodwill trip for consultation”, the Pakistan foreign secretary will hold talks with his counterpart Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury that will cover the entire gamut of bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues of common concern.
Matters relating to expansion of trade and economic cooperation and Free Trade Agreement (FTA) are expected to figure prominently in the discussions.
They will discuss inter summit session of the SAARC Council of Ministers to be held in Islamabad in the middle of the year.
Riaz Khokar is due to call on Foreign Minster M. Morshed Khan.
Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury will leave on an official visit to Malaysia on April 20 in order to persuade Kuala Lumpur to withdraw its candidature in view of the warm bilateral relations the two countries have already forged. Bangladesh has nominated Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s Adviser on Parliamentary Affairs Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury for the post of the ninth secretary-general of the OIC.
Two other leading Muslim countries— Turkey and Malaysia — are also contesting for the post of the chief executive of the 57-member OIC.
The election to the office of the OIC secretary-general will be held on the basis of consensus at a meeting of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (ICFM) due to be held in Istanbul in Turkey on June 14-16. The foreign secretary is going to Malaysia with a mission, identical with that of Foreign Minister M. Morshed Khan’s visit last week to Turkey. The foreign secretary accompanied the foreign minister during the trip to Turkey, which failed to achieve its purpose.
The foreign minister carried the message. The foreign secretary will carry a message from the prime minister containing the same request for her new Malaysian counterpart. On the sidelines of the last OIC summit held in Putrajaya, the administrative city of Malaysia, in November last year, Khaleda Zia had seized the opportunity to make the request to Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad who was then prime minister of his country, to withdraw Malaysia’s candidate in favor of Bangladesh.
Mahathir did not agree to withdraw his candidate. The foreign minister is also likely to visit Algeria and some other North African Arab countries in the last week of April or first week of May to drum up support.
