RIYADH: The secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Hissein Brahim Taha, has highlighted the increasing significance of the partnership between the OIC and the Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations. His comments were passed on by OIC assistant secretary-general for humanitarian, social, and cultural affairs, Tarig Ali Bakheet, at the recent high-level ministerial group meeting of the 9th Global Forum of the UNAOC held in Fes, Morocco. In his statement, Taha thanked Morocco for hosting the forum which he said provided the international community with a unique platform to develop joint initiatives and forge partnerships, many of them supported and shared by the OIC. Taha also noted a rise in some parts of the world in cases of Islamophobia, racism, xenophobia, and discrimination a situation he pointed out could only be tackled by raising community awareness of the value and virtues of civilizational pluralism, and the pursuit of intercultural and inter-civilizational engagement. He added that supporters of the UNAOC needed to continue backing its prime role as a clearing house, catalyst, and facilitator for dialogue-driven culture.