Photo: Collected
Bangladesh has called upon the member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to contribute to the legal fund for the Rohingya case filed by The Gambia at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and to continue life-saving humanitarian assistance until the displaced Rohingyas return to their own country.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humayun Kabir made the call at the annual coordination meeting of OIC foreign ministers at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on Thursday (24 September). The matter was conveyed in a message sent to Dhaka.
The state minister said, ‘We seek cooperation for the legal fund to run The Gambia’s ICJ proceedings and to keep life-saving humanitarian assistance going until the Rohingyas are repatriated.’
He said Bangladesh is still sheltering more than 12 lakh forcibly displaced Rohingyas. He called upon the OIC member states to play an effective role in their early repatriation.
Highlighting the OIC’s broader priorities, Humayun Kabir stressed stronger cooperation in trade, investment, connectivity and renewable energy. He said only 20 percent of the total trade of OIC member states in 2024 took place among themselves, which is lower than the target of 25 percent.
He also called for increased cooperation in artificial intelligence, innovation and technology transfer to reduce the digital divide. The state minister said Bangladesh has proposed increasing the budget of the Islamic University of Technology (IUT) by 15 to 20 percent. About 60 percent of the institution’s students receive international scholarships.
Expressing support for the proposed OIC programme of action for the 2026-2035 period, he called for setting specific targets in the areas of food security, digital transformation, health, science and cooperation with the Islamic Development Bank.
The state minister for foreign affairs also spoke in favour of further strengthening the role of the OIC Observatory in monitoring Islamophobia in order to establish human rights, tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
He also reiterated Bangladesh’s support for the establishment of an independent and sovereign State of Palestine based on the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. Praising the leadership of Turkiye as OIC chair, Humayun Kabir welcomed Iraq as the next chair.
