OIC chief signs cooperation agreement with Australian government

JEDDAH (A.A) - February 16, 2012 -  The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, or OIC, has signed a letter of a framework of cooperation with the Australian government on Thursday, OIC said.   The framework agreement was penned in Canberra during OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu's visit to the Australian capital, where he met with Prime Minister Julia Gillard  "The two sides exchanged views on the situation in Syria and Palestine and the possible ways and means of enhancing OIC-Australia relations. On the issue of Palestine, Ihsanoglu solicited Australia's support for establishing the Palestinian state and commended it for its development aid to Palestine especially in the areas of state institutional building and infrastructure," said a statement posted on OIC website. Ihsanoglu separately met with Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd and the two officials penned the framework agreement, which Ihsanoglu would contribute to increasing cooperation in the economic, political and humanitarian areas as well as in the promotion of good governance, human rights and counter terrorism.  "He stressed on the importance of implementing joint projects for OIC least developed countries in the domain of health and in providing scholarships for higher education," the OIC statement said.  Earlier, the OIC chief met with Governor General Caroline Cooper and he also gave a lecture at the National Press Club.  "He spoke about the transition process towards democracy that is taking place in several countries in the Muslim world particularly in the Arab region. He said that what happened, starting with Tunis then Egypt, Libya, Yemen and now in Syria is not a revolution in the sense of ideological change but an evolution of society," the statement said.