His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, attended the Preparatory Meeting of the Fourth Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference on Monday at the Jeddah Conference Palace, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Accompanying His Royal Highness was YAM Pengiran Anak Mansurah Izzul Bolkiah.

The meeting was chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

His Royal Highness and fellow Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) ministers on Monday evening attended an Iftar banquet hosted by His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz on behalf of His Royal Highness Saud Al-Faisal, the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

His Royal Highness and Her Royal Highness Pengiran Anak Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Zariah left Jeddah later in the evening.

OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said the initiative of convening the extraordinary summit called by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud is a good omen and augers well as it aims to stem the tide of differences and discord and bring the Islamic nations together, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

On Syrian cause, he stressed the OIC's stance is to maintain security, stability and unity of Syria and the need to stop violence and targeted killings of civilians.

He said the main topic before the Islamic Summit's agenda Tuesday is to promote Islamic solidarity that would reflect positively on resolving all issues that hinder the march of joint Islamic action.

Saudi Arabia's Minister of Foreign Affairs also made clear that the OIC foreign ministers' meeting will put forward the agenda and final draft of the Islamic Summit which would lead to a new era for the restoration of Islamic solidarity. Later, the meeting became a closed session. - Borneo Bulletin (15 August 2012)