Islamic nations’ Mecca meeting timely

His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday underlined the timing and the agenda of the Islamic summit, which will be held today in Mecca, stressing its importance in unifying the ranks of the Arab and Islamic nations. The invitation by Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz for an extraordinary summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) comes in response to escalating development in the region and the Islamic world, the King said in an interview with the Saudi newspaper, Okaz. These developments call for coordinating efforts to bolster Islamic solidarity and to arrive at solutions for the challenges facing the Islamic nation, the King said. King Abdullah said the timing of the summit attests to the wisdom and true leadership of the Saudi monarch, who, the King said, is deemed with high esteem and respect in the Arab and Islamic worlds. The Saudi king has shown “keenness to bring together all Arabs and Muslims at these critical circumstances the nation is going through”, His Majesty told the daily. “Holding the summit in the heart of Mecca and during the last 10 days of the holy month of Ramadan sends important signals,” the King said. Muslims consider the last 10 days of Ramadan as sacred time because the Koran is believed to have been first revealed to Prophet Mohammad during this time. “The message of Islam started in Mecca and hopefully the city will see the launch of a new drive to unify the nation,” the King told the newspaper. In the interview, the King commended the strong Jordanian-Saudi relations, describing them as a model of “institutionalised” brotherly ties based on respect, continued coordination, cooperation and exchange of expertise. “The security of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf countries is Jordan’s security,” the King said. In reply to a question on Saudi Arabia’s support for Joran, the King said the eastern neighbour has been the most supportive country of Jordan, stressing the deep-rooted strategic relations between both countries. Regarding the situation in Syria, the King said we have cautioned about the dangers if the situation continues to deteriorate in Syria and it has become a must to work without delay to find a political solution to Syria’s escalating crisis.  “In fact, we, in Jordan, have been mostly affected by what is happening in Syria, in terms of the economy and security. The number of Syrian refugees which is currently more than 150,000 attests to this,” the King said. Jordan’s position is based on safeguarding Syria’s unity, its people and land, and preserving its national and regional security, King Abdullah said, stressing the importance of humanitarian efforts in support of Syrian refugees. In light of the exceptional and unprecedented developments in Syria, the Arab and the Muslim nation has a historic responsibility to shape a unified strategic vision to preserve the nation’s interests, the King told the Saudi newspaper. Some countries have started assisting Jordan to shoulder this humanitarian responsibility and relief aid has started trickling in, he pointed out. With regard to the impasse in the peace process, the King said the stalemate serves nobody other than Israeli expansionist policies. Because of the dangers of this situation, Jordan has intensified its diplomatic efforts to arrive at a platform to resume direct negotiations on final status issues, in accordance with international resolutions, the King said, highlighting the exploratory Jordan-sponsored meetings in this regard held in January. The King voiced his utmost concern about the dangers facing the Holy City of Jerusalem and the Palestinian people in light of unilateral Israeli measures, which seek to Judaise the holy city and alter its true identity, stressing the need for an Arab unified status to face these measures. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, who took part in the OIC ministerial meeting on Monday, called in his address for activating Islamic solidarity and joint action. He echoed the King’s remarks, voicing appreciation for Saudi Arabia’s initiative to host the 57-member organisation’s meeting. He reiterated Jordan’s position which singles out the Palestinian cause as the central issue in the region. From JT