Istanbul hosts first OIC conference on mediation

By Zehra Melek Cat and Hanife Sevinc

ISTANBUL

Turkish deputy foreign minister on Tuesday called for mediation to resolve conflicts in the Islamic world.

"We want the resolution of many conflicts in the Islamic world through peaceful means and a mediation method," Ahmet Yildiz told Anadolu Agency after the first conference of Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on mediation held in Istanbul.

“Let's improve the cooperation's capacity, let's improve the capacity of the member states as well,” he said.

Earlier, speaking at the conference titled -- Surge in Mediation – The Role of the OIC --, Yildiz stated that Muslims are the ones who suffered the most from the conflicts.

Ambassador Abdallah Alim, Assistant Secretary General of the OIC for Political Affairs, also emphasized the importance of the mediation.

"OIC suggests mediation on resolving disputes. We work for relations among states, based on justice, respect, and good neighborhood," he said.

Through mediation, Alim said, they were trying to prevent the issues being experienced by Muslims in Myanmar, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Libya.

Senior officials and academicians from 40 OIC member countries and international organizations attended the conference.

The organization's current activities and its potential on mediation were also discussed in the meeting.