Ministers and heads of diplomatic missions from 57 Muslim countries, including Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, attended the OIC ministerial meeting in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta.
It is being held at the request of Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas, after the escalation of Israeli violence in the occupied territories and restriction imposed by it to access the Al-Aqsa mosque in the holy Quds.
Palestine’s Foreign Affairs Minister Riyad al-Maliki, OIC Secretary General Iyad Ameen Madani and Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi also addressed the meeting.
Zarif arrived in Jakarta on Sunday morning as the first destination of his tour of six countries, which will later take him to three other ASEAN and two Oceanian countries.
Iran’s Ambassador to Jakarta Valiollah Mohammadi told Tasnim on Saturday that Zarif will take part in the OIC ministerial meeting on Sunday noon, and the Leaders’ Summit on Monday on behalf of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
Zarif’s 11-day tour of Southeast Asia and Oceania is scheduled to go on with official visits to Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, New Zealand, and Australia.