Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Abdulla Khaleel has arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to participate in the Extraordinary Session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers. The meeting will be held on 25 August.
The Council of Foreign Ministers usually meets annually in regular session to address key issues affecting the Islamic Ummah. This extraordinary session, however, has been convened at the request of Palestine, Türkiye and Iran to address urgent developments, including Israel’s ongoing aggression against the Palestinian people.
Foreign Minister Khaleel is scheduled to address the meeting, with his speech focusing on Israel’s decision to occupy the entire Gaza Strip being a violation of international law. He will call for the immediate halt of these plans and urge the enforcement of international law and human rights obligations against Israel.
The Minister will emphasise the use of starvation as a weapon of war against the people of Gaza, describing it as a grave breach of international and human rights law. He will call for the safe, sustainable and uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian assistance to all parts of Gaza.
In his speech, the Minister is also expected to express concern over the lack of decisive international action to stop Israel’s continuing atrocities against Gaza and the Palestinian people. He will also emphasise the need for both words and action in pursuing a lasting solution to the Palestinian issue.
The Minister will further explain the Maldives’ longstanding stance on Palestine, reaffirming the country’s unwavering commitment to advocate for Palestine’s recognition as an independent and sovereign state in the international arena.
The OIC is an organisation of 57 member states that has consistently advocated for the Palestinian cause. The Maldives became a member of the OIC in 1976, and for the past 48 years, has maintained that the only sustainable solution to the Palestinian issue is the establishment of the Palestinian state as an independent and self-governing state, based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The Maldives has repeatedly condemned Israel's inhumane acts in the occupied Palestinian territories and continues to advocate for the rights of the Palestinian people.