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Bangladesh has urged member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to support the legal fund for Gambia’s case concerning the Rohingya at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and continue life-saving humanitarian assistance to the displaced Rohingya until their safe return to Myanmar.
Foreign Affairs State Minister Humayun Kabir made the appeal at the OIC Annual Coordination Meeting of Foreign Ministers at the UN headquarters in New York on Thursday, according to a message received in Dhaka.
“We seek support for the legal fund for Gambia’s proceedings before the ICJ and continued life-saving humanitarian assistance until the Rohingya are repatriated,” he said.
Kabir said Bangladesh continues to host more than 1.2 million forcibly displaced Rohingya and urged OIC member states to play a more effective role in facilitating their repatriation.
He also called for stronger cooperation among OIC countries in trade, investment, connectivity and renewable energy.
Kabir noted that only 20% of total trade among OIC member states was conducted among themselves in 2024, below the organisation’s target of 25%.
He called for increased cooperation in artificial intelligence, innovation and technology transfer to help narrow the digital divide.
Kabir said Bangladesh had proposed increasing the budget of the Islamic University of Technology (IUT) by 15% to 20%. He noted that around 60% of the university’s students receive international scholarships.
Expressing support for the proposed OIC Programme of Action for 2026-2035, he called for specific targets in food security, digital transformation, health, science and cooperation with the Islamic Development Bank.
The state minister also supported a stronger role for the OIC Observatory in monitoring Islamophobia and promoting human rights, tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
Kabir reiterated Bangladesh’s support for the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
He praised Türkiye’s leadership as the current OIC chair and welcomed Iraq as the incoming chair.
