The third Senior Officials meeting between the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the European Union was held on 25March 2019 in Brussels in the framework of the MoU signed in 2015.
The OIC Delegation was led by Ambassador Ali Goutali, Director General of Palestine Affairs. The EU Delegation was headed by Mr. Colin Scicluna, Deputy Managing Director for the Middle East North Africa at the EEAS.
The Meeting exchanged views on a wide range of issues of common interest including the situation in the Middle East, particularly the Palestinian issue, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sahel and Central African Republic.
The meeting also discussed possible cooperation in areas such as culture, promotion of tolerance, non-discrimination and respect for diversity, human rights, freedom of religion and belief, empowerment of women and humanitarian affairs.
The meeting highlighted the need for more political cooperation and coordination between the two organizations in multilateral fora, including in the UN, particularly in areas of mutual interest.
Both sides also stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation in the humanitarian field, as well as in training, capacity building and exchange of best practices. The two sides agreed to entrust their respective representations, in Brussels and Jeddah, to follow up on the implementation of actions and initiatives agreed upon during the meeting.