Suriname foreign minister in Istanbul for Islamic summit; Guyana absent

By Ray Chickrie,  Caribbean News Now contributor, Published on April 15, 2016, http://www.caribbeannewsnow.co...na-absent-30021.html

ISTANBUL, Turkey -- The foreign minister of Suriname, Niermala Badrising, is in Turkey representing President Desi Bouterse at the 13th Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Summit, which commenced on Wednesday under the theme “Unity and Solidarity for Justice and Peace”. According to sources in Istanbul, neighbouring Guyana skipped the summit.

Suriname Foreign Minister Niermala Badrising

Badrising and the Turkish foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, held a bilateral meeting on Thursday. The diplomats reviewed bilateral ties and discussed steps to expand them. Ties between Turkey and Suriname, which has a significant Muslim population, have grown stronger and more recently the two countries removed the visa regime for their nationals to travel freely between the two countries.

In her first participation at an OIC summit, Badrising is the only female head of a delegation at the mostly male dominated gathering.

The summit is being attended by regional heavyweights: King Salman of Saudi Arabia; the president of Iran, Hassan Rouhani; Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan; Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria; the Emir of Kuwait; and Prime Minister Njib Razak of Malaysia are among many other heads of states present in Istanbul.

In an opening address, the secretary general of the OIC, Iyad Ameen Madani, urged leaders to find “the political will, make decisions, change the status quo, resolve discord and differences and give confidence and hope to the Umma”.

Madani also condemned the rise of “hate rhetoric" towards Muslims (Islamophobia) due to violence and terrorism, and affirmed that it is an issue that the OIC will champion.

Cavusoglu told the gathering that the Palestinian cause will be escalated. He also declared that the Ten-year Program of Action (TYPOA) will be adopted. Cavusoglu reassured OIC leaders that, under Turkey’s chairmanship, the OIC will seek cooperation from member states in addressing the problems facing the Umma.