ISTANBUL - Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said late on Tuesday that holding a vote to appoint the new secretary general of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) was a new step for the Islamic world.
Replying to questions of journalists after Turkey's candidate Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu became the new secretary general of the OIC, Gul said, ''such a vote took place for the first time in history of the OIC. The vote was held appropriately and transparently. We are thankful to Eighth Secretary General Abdelouahed Belkeziz of the OIC and to the other candidate countries Bangladesh and Malaysia. The vote, in fact, is a new step for the Islamic world.''
''The Islamic world took a de facto step on the path of democracy by holding such a vote to appoint its new secretary general. Turkey's candidate was appointed with a majority of votes. The vote proved that the Islamic world could resolve its problems within itself. This is a good beginning. We were talking about reforms and democracy at the 31st Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers. Now, we took the first step on the path of democracy,'' he stressed.
Recalling that the OIC with its 57 member countries was the second biggest international organization after the United Nations, Gul said, ''a Turkish person will lead the OIC now. We are proud of it.''
(UK-AÖ) 16.06.2004