Palestine Participates in the Preparatory Islamic Committee for the Council of Foreign Ministers in Jeddah

SadaNews - As part of the preparations for the 52nd session of the Council of Foreign Ministers, scheduled to be held in Baghdad on April 11-12, a meeting of the 48th session of the Islamic Committee on Economic, Cultural, and Social Affairs, preparatory for the Council of Foreign Ministers, was held at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation headquarters in Jeddah from January 20 to 22, 2026, with the participation of forty member states.

The State of Palestine was represented by its permanent delegate to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Ambassador Hadi Shibli, accompanied by First Counselor Nasim Al-Zaanin and Second Secretary Aathar Omari.

The first day of the session witnessed the transfer of the presidency of the committee from the Republic of Turkey to the Republic of Iraq, and the adoption of the formation of the bureau with the membership of the State of Palestine, the Republic of Pakistan, and the Republic of Senegal as vice-presidents, and the Republic of Turkey as rapporteur, with an emphasis on the centrality of the Palestinian issue and the necessity of continuing political and humanitarian support for the Palestinian people.

During the discussion of draft resolutions in economic affairs, the Palestine delegation proposed an additional paragraph calling for enhancing humanitarian support and aid for the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including the holy city of Jerusalem, and renewing the "Emergency Appeal in Gaza" program, which was submitted to the General Secretariat.

On the second day of the session, the committee discussed draft resolutions in the fields of science, technology, and innovation, higher education, as well as the health, water, and environment sectors, which were unanimously adopted.

The committee also adopted, with the consensus of all member states, the proposals put forward by the State of Palestine in the field of cultural affairs, including an addition made by the Kingdom of Morocco regarding the twinning of Palestinian universities, and welcoming the inauguration of the official headquarters of the Moroccan Studies Chair at Al-Quds University.