PUIC Meeting Opens in Tehran to Discuss Palestine

The 13th session of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States (PUIC), which started in Tehran on Saturday, will address the Palestinian issue in particular, a lawmaker said. "Different issues concerning the Muslim world are to be addressed in the conference," Abdolreza Azizi said, adding that "particular attention will be paid to the Palestinian issue," IRNA reported.

The 13th PUIC conference is being held from January 13 to 17 in the Iranian capital. The PUIC is an annual conference that provides a framework for comprehensive and fruitful cooperation and coordination among the parliaments of the Organization Islamic Cooperation countries by exchanging views on economic, social and political issues of interest to member states.

Azizi said 44 countries, out of the 54 OIC member states, will participate in the five-day meeting with 16 parliamentary speakers and 14 deputy speakers attending the summit of the conference, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.

A host of issues will be raised in the specialized and executive committees such as political affairs and foreign relations, economic affairs and environment, human rights, women and family, legal affairs and dialogue of civilizations and religions. Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani will present a speech on Monday.

  Special Significance

This year's session has added significance as Muslim countries have tried to pool their efforts to stand up against the recent US President Donald Trump's decision to declare Beit-ul-Moqaddas as the capital of Israel.

An emergency meeting of the PUIC, initiated by Jordan, regarding the US decision was held in Tehran last month.

Although most Muslim countries have vehemently condemned the US move, some including Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt, have only issued a lukewarm criticism which has caused some countries, such as Jordan, to distance themselves from Riyadh and seek better relations with Tehran.

Special attention will be paid to the Jordanian delegation which is reported to have an agenda of starting "serious relations" with Iran.

Last week the Lebanese newspaper Addiyar reported that "the king of Jordan has decided to send a parliamentary delegation to Tehran to explore ways for expanding of ties between the two sides, even at the cost of incurring the wrath of Riyadh."

Jordan, which has a considerable Palestinian population, has been disappointed at the reports suggesting Riyadh and Washington are trying to carve out a deal regarding Palestine without the consent of Jordan.

The 12th PUIC conference was held in Mali in 2017.