Four organizations from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Britain have joined the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Humanitarian Organizations.

The Medad Center for Humanitarian Research in Saudi Arabia has been assigned the responsibility of regulating the council’s work, which will be discussed at its next meeting in May.

Humanitarian NGOs that gained consultative status in the OIC concluded their first meeting on Tuesday at the headquarters of the OIC General Secretariat in Jeddah.

The organizations discussed how to organize their work under the umbrella of the OIC and to define their role in supporting humanitarian work in the Muslim world, in addition to coming up with administrative and financial mechanisms for the establishment of the Council of Humanitarian Organizations.

The organizations agreed that the council would consist of the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) of Saudi Arabia as vice-president, the Qatar Foundation as rapporteur, the Organization of Islamic Relief Worldwide of Britain as treasurer,and the Turkish IHH organization as member.

The council president and the executive secretariat, to be chosen in May, will be elected from outside the humanitarian organizations from among professionals with extensive experience in humanitarian work and international regulations.

The organizations pledged to donate around $300,000 for the establishment of the secretariat within the headquarters of the OIC in Jeddah.

The organizational structure for the council includes four specialized committees, besides the executive office, for relief efforts, foreign relations, protection of humanitarian activity and training and capacity-building.