‘Back a sovereign Palestine’

Foreign Minister Dipu Moni has called upon the Muslim world to support Palestine in ‘a result-oriented’ way to make it a sovereign state that Bangladesh backs ‘unequivocally’.

She made the call while speaking at a special session titled ‘Israeli Settlements on Occupied Palestinian Land’ on Sunday during the 12th Islamic Summit Conference of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Cairo.

According to a media release, Dipu Moni reiterated “unequivocal support of Bangladesh for a fully sovereign Palestinian state within the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

“She called upon all OIC member states to extend support to Palestine in a more useful and constructive manner with a result-oriented approach,” it said.

The Bangladesh Foreign Minister condemned the repression of Palestinians by Israeli authorities “through cold-blooded policy of settlements in the occupied land of Palestine that is a glaring affront to the values of human rights and human conscience.”

The OIC Summit held under the theme of ‘Muslim World: New Challenges and Expanding Opportunities’ ended on Monday.

It discussed seven main issues including Palestine, conflict and humanitarian situations in the Muslim world, Islamophobia and cooperation in economic, scientific, technological, cultural and information fields.

On the sidelines of the summit, the Foreign Minister as the Chair of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) met President of Maldives Abdul Waheed.

She also met United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Dr Anwar Mohammed Gargash and Indonesia’s Foreign Minister R.M. Marty M. Natalegawa.

In each meeting, she discussed entire gamut of bilateral issues including trade, investment and labour, according to the media release.