Dushanbe: The UAE is keen on following up the condition of people across the Islamic world in terms of the provision of humanitarian and developmental support.

Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Foreign Minister, said in his speech before the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) conference, that upon the directives of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE continues to provide humanitarian assistance and developmental aid to a number of Muslim countries.

Shaikh Abdullah, who was speaking during the meetings of 37th session of OIC Foreign Ministers in the Tajik Capital, Dushanbe, highlighted the UAE's call for settling differences and outstanding conflicts among Muslim countries amicably through dialogue, adding that the UAE looks forward to bolstering the role of the (OIC) in this respect.

He reiterated that the UAE government has continued with its efforts to settle its conflict with Iran, which has occupied the three UAE islands since 1971, through dialogue and peaceful approaches based on the principles of international law and charter of OIC.

Dialogue

"The UAE is still hoping Iran will respond to its repetitive calls to commence dialogue or both resort to International Court of Justice," he said.

Shaikh Abdullah stressed that the UAE denounces all forms of terrorism and is against attempts to link it to teachings of all divine religions and cultures of peoples.

He noted that the competent authorities in the UAE would continue tracking down perpetrators involved in the murder of top Hamas official Mahmoud Al Mabhouh in Dubai. He described the murder as a terrorist crime. He called on all sisterly and friendly countries to cooperate with the UAE in this case.

The UAE Foreign Minister also said "the UAE is taking tangible steps to support the efforts of international community to develop peaceful uses of nuclear energy and curb proliferation of weapons of mass destruction."

"It is also seeking to play [an] effective role in the efforts of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) [in] supporting the right of members to [harness] nuclear energy for civil uses," he added.

He described the Arab Peace Initiative as realistic and practical to settle the Palestinian issue in a way that preserves the legitimate national rights of Palestinians to set up their independent sovereign state with Jerusalem (Al Quds) as their capital.