OIC team’s visit to Colombo delayed

The scheduled visit of an OIC team to Colombo to prepare for its secretary-general’s visit has been postponed on account of the island’s presidential elections, according to sources from the Sri Lankan Embassy here.
Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Iyad Ameen Madani was to visit Sri Lanka early next year on an invitation from the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and an advance team of four members from the OIC was to visit the island in preparation for the secretary general’s visit.
This was the first time that arrangements for such a high-level visit from the OIC were announced six weeks ago, embassy sources said.
The island’s ambassador, Mohammed Hussein Mohamed met Madani in Jeddah to discuss the program of the secretary-general’s visit to Colombo.
The four-member delegation from the OIC was expected to chalk out the secretary-general’s program in coordination with the ministry of external affairs in Colombo.
Arab News learned that in addition to his meeting with the country’s president, Madani would hold meetings with religious organizations in Sri Lanka to get first hand knowledge of the current position of the minorities on the island.
Earlier, the OIC, the Jeddah-based organization and parent body of 57 member countries, expressed its concerns over the escalating ethnic tensions in Sri Lanka, which has affected the Muslim community and its businesses on the island.