On the eve of the forum, the head of the Foreign Ministryof Kazakhstan held talks with the Secretary General of the OIC, Yousef Al-Othaimeen. During the meeting, the parties reconciled their positions on currentpolitical and economic issues in the Islamic world.Much attention was paid to the implementation of the initiatives of the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, aimed at maintaining global stability, enhancing economic and humanitarian ties.

The OIC Secretary General highly appreciated the role of Kazakhstan and its leader in supporting the activities of the Organisation, strengthening the atmosphere of trust and interaction between Member States. The implementation of the initiative on Islamic reconciliation, put forward by the Presidents of Kazakhstan and Turkey in 2016, is an important element of OIC activities. This concept providesa broad and flexible platform for settling various differences between the OIC countries, which the Islamic world particularly needs today. In this regard, the sides agreed on a package of specific measures for joint work in this direction.

In 2019, Astana will host the second session of the General Assembly of the Islamic Organisation for Food Security. The establishment of this Organisation was initiated by President Nursultan Nazarbayev. In a very short time, 32 states have joined this union,demonstrating their belief that Kazakhstan can become a food hub and an agro-industrial policy planning center for the OIC countries.

The OIC Secretariat and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), together with Kazakhstan and other countries, are working on the practical implementation of anotherKazakh initiative, the Islamic Infrastructure Integration. To this end, the IDB has developed a Transport Geographic Information System, which makes it possible to analyse the current state and ways of connecting transport corridors between Asia, the Middle East and Africa. In addition, the initiative aims to create conditions to facilitate the flow of goods and investment among the OIC states.

In 2017, Astana initiated and held the First OIC Summit on Science and Technology, during which the OIC Science, Technology and Innovation Agenda 2026 was adopted. In addition, at the suggestion of Kazakhstan, work is underway to create a dialogue platform among 15 leading Muslim countries in the field of science and technology.Within the CFM, Kazakh diplomat Askar Mussinov will officially take office as the OIC Assistant Secretary General for Science and Technology.

The Organisation's reforms was an important point of negotiations with the OIC Secretary General. Minister Atamkulov noted that the OIC undoubtedly is in need of reforms to meet the requirements of a dynamic and changing world.Improving the effectiveness of the OIC, which is the second largest international organisation after the UN, will meet the interests of member states and the entire international community.

The Foreign Minister invited Dr. Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen to the 12th Astana Economic Forum to be held on May 16-17. It is expected that large investors from the OIC countries willalso attend the Forum.