Speech by the delegation of Burkina Faso

 Bismillahi Arrahmani Arrahimi.

Your Majesty King Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz Al-Saud,
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
Chairman of the Third Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference,

H.E. Mr. Abdallah Badawi,
Prime Minister of Malaysia, Chairman of the 10th Islamic Summit,

Majesties,
Royal Highnesses,
Excellencies, Heads of State and Government,
Excellency, the Secretary General of the Islamic Conference,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Your Majesty,

Your Brother, His Excellency Blaise Compaore, President of Faso, who would have dearly wished to be in your midst today has bestowed on me the singular honour of representing him at this 3rd Extraordinary Summit of the Islamic Conference.

Your Majesty and Chair of this 3rd Extraordinary Session, the President of Faso lauds you for your wisdom in taking this initiative to hold this important Summit of Muslim Heads of State, in the holy city of Makkah Al-Mukarramah, the cradle of Islam and qibla of the Islamic Ummah.

Your Majesty, this Summit affords us the opportunity to convey to Yourself and to the Saudi people our profound gratitude, for the unique and excellent ties of cooperation and solidarity existing between our two peoples and countries exemplified by the many projects implemented in Burkina Faso by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

I would also like, on behalf of the delegation accompanying me and on my own behalf, to express our profound and sincere appreciation for the exceptional welcome afforded us since we set foot in your beautiful and hospitable country.

This legendary hospitality, epitomised by the greeting “Ahlan Wa Sahlan” is a source of pride for Yourself and the brave Saudi Peoples.

My delegation salutes your assuming the chair of this momentous meeting and is convinced that thanks to your exceptional qualities as Statesman, Diplomat, and with the inspiration of these Holy Places, our deliberations will be crowned with success. My delegation for its part assures you of its utmost willingness to support you in this noble mission.


Majesties, Royal Highnesses,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me to pay tribute and congratulate the Secretary General of our Organization, Mr. Ekmeleddin İhsanoglu who, within a year of coming to the helm of the OIC, has demonstrated his commitment to modernise our Organisation while endowing it with a true vision.

Indeed it is only through judicious and bold reforms, based on an agreed programme of action that the Organisation of the Islamic Conference can meet the challenges facing the Islamic Ummah as we embark on the 21st century.

In order to make significant strides on the way to stronger ties of true Islamic solidarity and to ensure the Muslim World speaks with one voice, we need to portray the true face of Islam and extol its values of tolerance and peaceful co-existence in today’s world, characterised by globalisation, competitiveness and the quest for excellence.

In all fields, particularly the political, economic, scientific, cultural and institutional fields, we are challenged to come up with the best possible solutions as this is the sine qua non for the Islamic World to eradicate poverty, misery and ignorance.

In this vein, we hail the relentless battle waged by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, all the Member States of the Organisation and the International Community as a whole against Terrorism, a decidedly global phenomenon, that runs counter to the true values of Islam. Burkina Faso supports the proposal of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques with respect to the creation of an International Centre for Combating Terrorism.

Majesties, Royal Highnesses,
Excellencies,

Burkina Faso avails itself of the opportunity afforded by this important Summit to reaffirm its unfailing support to the struggle of the Palestinian people to recover all the occupied territories with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. We also present our deep sympathy to the government and people of Pakistan for the hardships they have just undergone with courage and dignity.

In general, for Burkina Faso, one of the fundamental principles of unity and cohesion within the Ummah is to reject any attempt to isolate and exclude one of our member states in their struggle for political, economic, social and cultural independence.

Majesties, Royal Highnesses,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen the Heads of State and Government,

The development of Africa, the continent where the majority of least developed countries are situated, must be at the heart of our concerns. Several multilateral and bilateral initiatives for Africa have been taken at the international level. The Organization of the Islamic Conference cannot afford to be out of step with such a world solidarity drive. This is why we stress the need for a special fund for the fight against poverty, which will help, among others, to:

- create and build industrial capacities
- promote trade and investment, particularly in agriculture and agro-industry
- boost trade and investment in export crops

In accordance with the relevant recommendations, it would be necessary to convene an extraordinary meeting of IDB Governors for setting up such a fund, which will be housed at the IDB.

We expect from the Muslim Ummah of the 21st century greater solidarity and unity, and greater commitment toward the poor and the downtrodden, whose numbers keep increasing because of injustice and intolerance of all sorts.

The upcoming Hong Kong meeting of the World Trade Organization offers the earliest opportunity for such a move. The magnitude of the challenges facing our countries requires that we work hand in hand to influence the outcome of the meeting by calling for a fairer world trade.

Consequently, African cotton producing countries would like to make a solemn appeal to all OIC member countries to support them in their quest for greater justice and fairness in the cotton trade. Burkina Faso supports the proposal by H.E. President Idris Deby of Tchad requesting the Conference to adopt a resolution backing the cotton producing African countries.

In line with the same Islamic solidarity drive, we would like to seize the opportunity of this august platform to plead for the cancellation of the debts of African countries.

These additional resources, allocated to development projects and programmes will make the activities of our organization on the ground more visible.

Majesties,
Royal Highnesses,
Ladies and Gentlemen, Heads of State and Government,

We all now admit that our organization must be reformed after decades of activity. Like the United Nations and other organizations, the OIC must courageously consider a broad restructuring and revival exercise, which is a requirement of our times.

The journey will definitely be long and tortuous, but the sound recommendations outlined in the Draft Programme of Action proposed with clear-sightedness by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and with the full support of Burkina Faso, constitute important guidelines for a common action. Our political will in the implementation of this action plan should be faultless, as Islam and the Islamic Ummah stand at the cross-roads. Never before has there been a mere propitious occasion for us Muslim leaders, to give the full measure to our clear vision and a leadership in a world of profound change. Together we can face the challenges of the 21st century through solidarity in action.

May Allah the Almighty, the Gracious, the Merciful bless and guide the outcome of this extraordinary summit.

Thank you.

Wassalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu.

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