JEDDAH, 11 December 2005 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has instructed Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal to meet with OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu here today to set out a working program to implement the Makkah summit resolutions.
The quick order from King Abdullah, the main architect of the extraordinary summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, proves that he was serious when he said the Makkah summit would open a new chapter in the history the Islamic nation.
The two-day conference, which was attended by most heads of state of the 57-member OIC, approved a 10-year action plan for the overall development of OIC countries and sought a complete facelift of the organization in order for it to play an effective role on the world stage.
According to Atta Al-Mannan, spokesman of the Jeddah-based organization, OIC officials have already started discussions with the Islamic Development Bank on establishing a fund to fight poverty as part of efforts to carry out the summit’s resolutions. He said expert committees would identify the priorities among the resolutions and work out an implementation timeline.
Al-Mannan said it would take time to realize the results of the 10-year action plan. “The restructuring of the organization will also take time as it involves changing the OIC Charter,” he said.
Meanwhile, the king launched seven health projects, including a cardiac center, a college of nursing and medical sciences and a bone marrow transplant unit at King Abdul Aziz Medical City here yesterday.
Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeea, executive director for the National Guard health department, said the projects would cost SR300 million. He said the king had approved a national family security program at the department.
During the inaugural ceremony, Abdullah said the new health facilities would serve Saudis, expatriates and all Muslims.
“These projects are part of efforts to build a modern state, which was inaugurated by King Abdul Aziz, the founder of the Kingdom,” the king said.
The new projects at the medical city includes outpatient clinics, expansion of the emergency ward, the operation rooms, Princess Noura bint Abdul Rahman Al-Faisal Cancer Center and a medical unit to treat burns, Rabeea said.
