OIC will be marginalized if there is no unity, Malaysian foreign minister
Regional-OIC, Politics, 10/2/1999

The Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) member countries will be marginalized as an organization caught in the tide of globalization in entering the new millennium if it does not unite, Malaysian news agency, BERNAMA, said quoting Malaysia's Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar.

He said that OIC member countries had to be wary that globalization of late had appeared in many forms.

Unilateralism, trade protectionism and political liberalism were some of the tools used to promote this concept, he said in his speech at the Annual Coordination Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of OIC Members States during the 54th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Friday.

Syed Hamid said if OIC member countries continue to be divided the OIC would perpetually be weak and easily be exploited by the strong and mighty.

"We must be an organization that is respected and reckoned with as we enter the next millennium," he said.

The OIC is an organization of 56 nations. The membership extends from Europe to Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Syed Hamid said the time had come for OIC member countries to have a critical review and take stock of the OIC achievements and failures.

"We must be sincere and forthright in our desire to be an effective organization. In this regard, we have to have strong resolve to find unity in our diversity.

"The need for us as an organization to be streamlined and achieve proper financial management is something that should be given serious attention," he added.

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