Turkey, Istanbul, Aug. 17 / Trend special correspondent A.Maratov/
The hunger in Somalia has reached catastrophic scales, Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Yerzhan Kazykhanov said. Two decades of instability and the recent drought have caused a serious humanitarian crisis in the country.
"The problem is not limited to Somalia, because currently 12 million people in East Africa are facing severe food shortages," Kazykhanov said at an emergency meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul.
The OIC member-countries discuss in Turkey the ways to resolve the humanitarian and political crisis in one of the poorest countries of the Muslim world - Somalia, located in East Africa.
The Minister mentioned the particular urgency of proposals of President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan to create a food safety system within the OIC, which was announced in June during the 37th session of the organization.
"Along with the immediate response, we must think about ensuring long-term food security," said Kazykhanov.
Regarding the issue of political solution in Somalia, the Minister said that the OIC should promote and intensify international efforts to stabilize the political and improve the humanitarian situation in the country.
"Responding to the humanitarian crisis in Somalia will become a test of the OIC member states to restore peace in one of the poorest Muslim countries," he said.
The meeting, chaired by Kazykhanov, is attended by the President of Somalia Sharif Ahmed, Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, as well as ministers of the OIC member states.
A document aimed at mobilizing humanitarian and financial assistance to the countries of the Horn of Africa and implementing the OIC countries' special assistance program to the Somalis is expected to be adopted after the meeting.
The organization was established in 1969. It is the second largest organization after theUN and the only association representing the universal interests of the Islamic world on the international arena.
The OIC brings together 57 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and South America with a population of 1.6 billion people.