Jeddah, January 23, 2022, SPA -- The Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) preparatory to the 48th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers, due to take place in Islamabad, the capital city of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, in March 2022, started today at the Jeddah-based headquarters of the General Secretariat. The inaugural session has witnessed the handover of the chair from the Republic of Niger to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. In his speech at the opening ceremony, the Secretary General of OIC, Hissein Brahim Taha, appreciated the continuous support provided to the OIC and its Member States by the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the wise leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Crown Prince. He further commended the efforts and initiatives undertaken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in its capacity as the chair of the 14th Islamic Summit. In the same regard, he paid tribute to the Republic of Niger for its successful chairing of the 47th Session of the CFM. He also congratulated the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for assuming the chair of the 48th Session of CFM over the coming session. The Secretary General reviewed major developments, which have taken place in some Member States as well as the main items on the agenda of the meeting. He addressed the situation in Palestine, Afghanistan, Jammu and Kashmir, Yemen, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Mali, the Sahel Region and Lake Chad Basin, and other African countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Muslim communities and minorities in non-Member States. He underlined the need to overcome the challenges faced by Member States to ensure peace, stability and development and to achieve the aspirations of their peoples. He reaffirmed the determination of the General Secretariat to give a new impetus to the efforts of the OIC to attain those goals. He stressed the need to strengthen the capacities of the OIC in the areas of peace, preventive diplomacy and mediation, counterterrorism and combating Islamophobia, along with response efforts to COVID-19 challenges. --SPA 16:11 LOCAL TIME 13:11 GMT 0019 www.spa.gov.sa/w1681930