New OIC secretary-general elected
JAKARTA (JP): The Organization of Islamic Conferences (OIC) yesterday elected Moroccan Azeddine Laraki as the new secretary- general of the 54-member grouping.
Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas as chair of the OIC ministerial meeting said yesterday Laraki was unanimously elected and would begin his assignment on Jan. 1, 1997.
"We are all happy the election went well. We also welcome his appointment because he is someone who has delved much into OIC affairs," he told journalists.
Laraki was the sole candidate to replace outgoing Secretary- General Hamid Algabid who has held the post since 1989.
Laraki, 67, has had a long distinguished political career in Morocco. He has held a cabinet post, and also served as prime minister in the late 1980s.
He will hold the post for a four-year term and can be re- elected only once.
Laraki will be the seventh OIC secretary-general. The first secretary-general was Malaysia's Tunku Abdurrahman.
Indonesia is currently hosting the 24th foreign ministers meeting of the OIC. The meeting was opened here on Monday by President Soeharto and will end later today.
Apart from the secretary-general, four assistant secretary- general posts are also vacant. In all, the posts are being contested by 10 candidates including Indonesia's Hadi Wayarabi.
Hadi is currently Indonesia's ambassador to Bangladesh.
Alatas said the meeting decided to allow Laraki time to consider the candidates for assistant secretary-generals but hoped a decision would be made by March or April.
Speaking of the chances of Hadi's nomination, Alatas said "we have to work hardato convince the conference, particularly the secretary-general, of his (Hadi's) quality and abilities."
As the meeting approached its final day yesterday, Alatas said all discussions were going well. The plenary session today is expected to adopt a joint communique and other resolutions drafted by the various committees of the meeting.
"I don't think there are any particular problems," he remarked.
Meanwhile, a Pakistani delegate yesterday claimed the OIC had agreed to convene a special summit next year in Islamabad.
"The special summit would be devoted to the golden anniversary of Pakistan," said Shahid M. Amin, who is also Pakistan's ambassador to Jeddah where the OIC secretariat is located.
"We are very gratified the Islamic countries support this move," he said.
The special summit would be held on March 23.
Separately, delegates here revealed that the joint communique and resolutions to be issued at the close of the meeting today would also include a code of conduct among member states of the organization.
The code would bear the principal of non-interference and non- intervention, and further reiterate positions on various conflicts particularly pertaining to member states. (mds)