Sudanese president for uniting Arab, Islamic ranks

Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has called upon Arab and Islamic states to unite their positions and efforts to restore their rights, counter hostile challenges and maintain a key role in the 21st century.

In a statement to the Saudi Daily Okaz, Bashir said that more than at any time before, Arab and Islamic states need to unite efforts and settle disputes to confront their common enemy. "Our duty is to counter conspiracies and commit to our rights to implement UN Security Council resolutions and to halt all Israeli practices which aim at perpetuating its occupation of Arab lands and plundering the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people," the Sudanese President said.

President Bashir stressed the need to revive economic cooperation among the Islamic states to reach an economic upsurge, adding that he called during the recent eighth Tehran summit for mobilization of all potentials to prepare the Islamic nation for the 21st century through specialized work teams responsible for devising a work plan and a strategy to strengthen economic and trade cooperation among the OIC (Organization of the Islamic Conference) states in light of international and regional changes.