In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

May blessings and peace be upon our Master

Hohammed, Messenger of Mercy to the Universe

H.E. Mr. Salah Goudjil

Speaker of the Council of the Nation of Algeria,

H.E. Mr. Ibrahim Boughali

Speaker of the National People’s Assembly of Algeria,

Excellencies Speakers of Parliaments, Heads and members of Delegations, participating delegations, Excellencies Members of the Council of the Nation, and National People’s Assembly of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria,

Excellencies Ambassadors, and Heads of Diplomatic Missions,

Ladies and Gentlemen

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله تعالى وبركاته؛

We feel happy and gratified to meet today on the land of Algeria, land of the million and a half martyrs, land of celebrity and dignity, land of ancient glory, land of pride. We meet on the land of Algeria in the context of the 17th Session of the PUIC Conference. We entertain high hopes that this session will be a successful one, and that the Algerian Presidency will take us a long way towards the realization of the objectives for which the PUIC has been established.

We have the honour that this Conference is held under the sublime custodianship of His Excellency President Abdelmajid Tebboune which is testimony to the attention paid by the Algerian State to the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States (PUIC).

I offer my ample thanks and sincere gratitude to His Excellency the President of the Republic, and through him to the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, for what it has exerted, and continues to exert, in favor of the PUIC, particularly its effective participation in the PUIC activities. We entertain high hopes on Algeria, especially in this period during which the Islamic World is in need of further understanding, rapprochement, solidarity and harmony.

I also offer special thanks to H.E. Mr. Ibrahim Boughali, Speaker of the National People’s Assembly, who has been our partner during the preparation of the proceedings of this conference, and also to His Excellency Mr. Salah Goudjil, Speaker of the Council of the Nation, who has always affirmed to us that the Algerian Parliament (with its two Chambers) is giving great attention to the OIC. This interest has become manifest in several matters, including the convening of this conference in Algeria, as it was originally planned to be held in Tunisia. However, emergency circumstances in Tunisia precluded that. Then Algeria requested to host it. Also, in March 2022, it hosted the meeting of the PUIC Executive Committee which unanimously agreed to convene this Conference in the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria.

We offer our thanks to H.E. Prof. Mustafa Ṣentop, Speaker f the Grand National Assembly of the Republic of Türkiye, and through him to the Turkish Parliament, who hosted the previous session of the PUIC Conference in Istanbul, in December, 2021. It was a successful Conference, considered as the first Conference to be held by the PUIC after the COvid-19 pandemic.

Excellencies,

The august Algerian Parliament has selected for this conference a motto with the theme: “Islamic World and Expectations of modernity and development”. Certainly our Islamic World seeks to win those urgent expectations in our contemporary life. Our Islamic world contains greatest amount of wealth in the globe and is inhabited by a billion of the world’s population and spans a wide strategic area. Nevertheless, it contains the poorest world states and the most destabilized, from which originated the majority of migrants who are fleeing their countries, because of conflicts and famines, and seeking a better life.

The Islamic world is qualified to win the expectations of development. There are live examples of this fact. It is qualified to be well-versed in technology in view of the availability of its qualified people and scientists in various fields on whom many big establishments in world depend.

drain is a great impediment to development in our Islamic world. Our work environment is mostly repelling, whereas others have attractive work environments.

At this juncture, I would like to emphasize that in order to realize the expectations, the Islamic world ought to care for youth who are the vibrant force in our communities. Migration is not only the flight of qualifications, but also there are those who seek work but do not have the necessary vocations. We see them fleeing from their countries in death boats across seas. Those who arrive safely live in degrading conditions.

One of the risks of migration is that youthful migrants may be exposed to relinquish their religion. This is a loss for them and for the Ummah. They may also be entangled in world networks of trafficking in drugs. This is fraught with danger for the Ummah. The migrant may return to his homeland, doubting the religion of his Muslim society, which is apt to cause sedition in our societies.

In general, the situation of the Islamic world, and the situation of the world around us calls for a pause of reflection. These are contradictions that are a cause of wonder. Despite the plenty of wealth, poverty is still rampant, and in spite of the development of science and technology in the manufacture of medicines, diseases and epidemics have multiplied and varied, and in spite of the spread of science and development of the tools and means of education, ignorance still prevails. Allah controls the affairs of his creatures.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Palestinian cause is still the central cause of Muslims because it is the tragedy of a people who suffer injustice for more than seventy years on the hands of the usurper Zionist entity which escalates its aggressions against Palestine every day, especially in the city of Al-Quds, where there is Al-Aqsa Mosque, First Qibla and Third of the Holy Sanctuaries, and the nocturnal destination of our Master and Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).

The heroic Palestinian people are facing the aggression with valor, and defending the sanctities of the Ummah. They deserve our stand by their side, support and back them. This is the duty of all Islamic States.

If we do not accept the posture of the international Community with folded arms vis-à-vis the challenge of Israel to it, through Israel’s rejection to implement all UN resolutions calling for putting an end to the Israeli occupation, and establishing the Palestinian State with Al-Quds as its Capital, we welcome, at the same time, the recent UN resolutions on the Palestinian issue, especially the resolution requesting the International Court of Justice to issue a consultative opinion on the continuous violation of the right of the Palestinians to self-determination, and Israel’s long-lasting occupation of the Palestinian territories, as well as the legal effects resulting from this situation relative to all states and the UN.

Yes, the UN has issued several resolutions in favor of the Palestinian Cause, which remained just ink on paper. However, we hope that matters will go in the direction of implementing these resolutions. We request our Islamic States at the UN to support this direction, because it is not strange if your enemy hated you, but it is strange to hate (and thus hurt) yourself. It is unacceptable to continue this double-standard stance.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

A soon as the Coronavirus pandemic has disappeared, or almost, the war between Ukraine and Russia broke out, which affected supplies of food and energy in the world. This has been badly reflected on the States of the world, in general, and the developing States, in particular.

The States of our Islamic world were, and still are, the victim of this turmoil. World peace will continue to be threatened if this war continues. We, therefore, call upon all peace-loving states in this world to act in order to stop this war and opt for peace. We praise the efforts exerted by Türkiye in this respect. We value the measures taken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to protect its interests as well as the interests of producers and consumers against the fluctuations of energy prices because of the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia.

Honorable Attendees,

The State of Qatar has achieved a resounding success in organizing the World Cup tournament last December, becoming the First PUIC State to host this big world sporting event. We felicitate Qatar and on the achievement, and for propagating cultural and civilizational values of this Islamic Ummah during the world football championship.

Allow me, lastly, to renew our thanks to the Republic of Algeria, President, Parliament, government and people for the warm reception, generous hospitality and hosting this Conference.

والسلام عليكم ورحمة الله تعالى وبركاته