RP's FM invited to OIC conference

RP's FM invited to OIC conference

PHILIPPINES: Philippine Foreign Secretary Blas Ople has been invited to attend a plenary meeting of his Islamic counterparts in Iran next week, an official said on Wednesday.

The invitation was forwarded to Ople's office by Iranian envoy to Manila Gholamreza Yousefi, who said Iran wanted Ople to be a "guest" of the conference from May 28 to 31 in Tehran.

This would be the first time a Philippine foreign minister would attend a plenary session of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC).

A diplomatic source said Ople was expected to press the Philippines' bid for observer status in the powerful 57-nation pan-Islamic body, a position held currently by the former Muslim separatist group Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

The OIC helped broker a peace deal between Manila and the MNLF in 1995, with the rebels dropping their independence bid to settle for a limited self-rule. --AFP