Istanbul, Turkiye - 21 June 2025 – The Director General of the Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS), His Excellency Ambassador Berik Aryn, is participating in the 51st Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), being held in Istanbul, Republic of Türkiye, from 21 to 22 June 2025 under the theme “The OIC in a Transforming World.”
The high-level session was officially inaugurated by the President of the Republic of Türkiye, His Excellency Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who delivered a keynote address underscoring the importance of solidarity, cooperation, and resilience among OIC Member States in facing global challenges.
It is important to note that His Excellency Mr. Murat Nurtleu, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, while addressing the Session, he called on OIC Member States that are yet to join the IOFS or to ratify its Statute to do so at the earliest convenience. Such impactful call mirrors the unwavering support of Kazakhstan, as the hosting country, provides to IOFS towards consolidating its growth.
On the sidelines of the 51st CFM, the Director General held a series of bilateral meetings with heads of delegations from Member States and relevant OIC Institutions. These engagements served as a platform for fruitful consultations on matters of mutual interest, particularly in the fields of food security, sustainable agriculture, and technical cooperation, as well as renovating the invitation for all to actively participate at the upcoming 7th IOFS General Assembly, expected to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan, in the last quarter of 2025.
• The meeting with the His Excellency Dr. Shaya Mohsin Zindani, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Republic of Yemen, followed the consultations held on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in April 2025, and focused on the establishment of the Joint Task Force on supporting national food security efforts and strengthening humanitarian coordination through IOFS mechanisms.
• In his meeting with the His Excellency Mr. Birame Mbagnick Diagne, Ambassador of the Republic of Senegal to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Permanent Representative of his country to OIC, the Director General mentioned IOFS’s plans to organize side-events at the African Food Systems Summit to be held in early September 2025 in Dakar (Senegal), which would be an opportunity for IOFS officials to meet with relevant high-level Senegalese authorities towards exploring joint initiatives to enhance agricultural resilience and support IOFS-led programs in the country.
• Discussions with the Ambassador of Suriname to the Kingdom of Morocco and Permanent Representative of his country to OIC centered around potential engagement with Caribbean OIC Member States, including knowledge-sharing and capacity-building in food systems development. Additionally, the two sides agreed to explore the possibility of an official visit to Suriname by the Director General next November after his participation at the COP30 to be held in Belém, Brasil.
• In the meeting with His Excellency Mr. Azar Bayramov, Director General of the OIC Labour Center, the two sides consulted on modalities to advance bilateral cooperation based on the MoU signed in July 2024.
• January 2024 andh Her Excellency Dr. Afnan Alshuaiby, the Executive Director of Women Development Organization (WDO), focused on activating the signed MoU in January 2024, and enhancing cooperation in the framework of celebration of 2026 as IOFS year of Women Agrileaders and Youth Agripreneurs (WAYA).
The participation of His Excellency Ambassador Berik Aryn at this key diplomatic gathering reaffirms the Organization’s commitment to advancing the food security agenda within the broader framework of OIC cooperation, while strengthening bilateral and multilateral partnerships in pursuit of common goals.
It should be mentioned that remaining officials being part of the IOFS delegation include Mr. Abdula Manafi Mutualo, Chief Multilateral Relations Officer, and Mr. Baglan Naribek, Bilateral Affairs Officer.
