JEDDAH: The 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) announced Thursday its plan to open an office in Mogadishu next month to support reconstruction of Somalia.

“The humanitarian department at the OIC in association with NGOs in member countries will carry out humanitarian projects worth $50 million in Somalia," said OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu.

The 16th session of the International Contact Group (ICG) on Somalia was held on Thursday at the OIC headquarters in Jeddah to discuss key development issues and to call for international support in fighting piracy and poverty.

The meeting was held under the chairmanship of the UN Special Representative for Somalia Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah. It was attended by Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke and around 45 delegates from ICG member states, observer countries and international organizations.

The ICG also welcomed the Transitional Federal Government’s (TFG) commitment to continue its efforts to outreach groups willing to cooperate and renounce violence.

The ICG reiterated the position of Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) that the Djibouti process is the framework within which all international efforts should be undertaken and that reconciliation steps should continue to empower and support the TFG.

The ICG condemned the continuing violence perpetrated against Somali civilians by extremists, in particular the suicide bomb attack on a graduation ceremony in Mogadishu on Dec. 3. It also called on the international community to provide coordinated, timely and sustained support to build Somali security institutions including the provision of stipends following the completion of training.

Ihsanoglu also paid tribute to the United Nations for its central role in global conflict resolution, peace and security restoration along with other international stakeholders, including the OIC.

Ihsanoglu reiterated that the OIC has always given top priority to the situation in Somalia, an issue that has permanently featured on the agenda of all OIC summits and conferences. He emphasized the importance of international partnership on this conflict with the aim of finding a peaceful and lasting solution to the crisis. “The Somalis need to be given hope through rehabilitation; reconstruction and economic development in order to make life more meaningful and worth living,” he added.

Somali Minister of Higher Education Mohammed A. Omaar, while speaking to Arab News on the sidelines of the meeting, highlighted the major issues Somalia is facing and the country’s plan to develop.

Despite Somalia being a country of severe contrasts between the troubled central and southern regions and the stable and peaceful north, Omaar stated that there is a misconception regarding Somalia’s instability.

“Somalia consists of three major areas, which are the Somaliland, Puntland, and the south-central (region),” Omaar said, adding that Mogadishu is located where there is the most instability. “Somaliland and Puntland are both very peaceful and stable.”