Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), headquartered in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, comprises 57 Member States working towards promoting issues of importance for the Muslim world. The OIC also promotes international peace and harmony through dialogue and mediation.

His Excellency Hissein Brahim Taha of Chad currently serves as Secretary-General of the OIC, having assumed office for a five-year term in November 2020.

The Maldives became a member of the OIC in 1976 and since then, has participated in the Islamic Summits and annual Council of Foreign Ministers Meetings. The Maldives also engages actively with OIC’s specialized institutions and intergovernmental organizations, including the Women Development Organization.

Within the OIC, the Maldives consistently advocates for unity in addressing challenges facing the Islamic world. The Maldives is particularly engaged on the following priority issues:

• Palestine: Within the OIC, the Maldives consistently advocates for the inalienable right to Palestinian people to statehood, including the establishment of a sovereign and independent State of Palestine, based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its Capital.

• Rohingya Muslims: The Maldives also continues to support the ongoing efforts to ensure accountability for the perpetrators of genocide against the Rohingya people. Pursuant to the mandate of the Final Communique of the 14th Islamic Summit held in Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, The Gambia instituted proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on behalf of the OIC to address crimes and human rights violations against the Rohingya people. The Maldives has since filed a declaration of intervention in support of The Gambia in this case.