ISLAMABAD, June 27: Foreign Minister Khurshid M. Kasuri was due to leave for Yemen on Monday as the head of a Pakistani delegation to attend the 32nd session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (ICFM) being held in the capital Sana from June 28-30, officials said. The annual conference of foreign ministers will have major issues before it, including Palestine and the Middle East peace process, Jammu and Kashmir, UN reforms and Security Council expansion, Islam and the Muslim World, enlightened moderation, rules for observer status, etc.

The OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir will meet on the margins of the ICFM on June 29.

Pakistan traditionally plays an important role in the OIC and is expected to coordinate positions with like-minded countries on a number of issues, including the question of UN Reforms, a foreign office statement said.

The ICFM Conference is expected to adopt several resolutions on a whole range of political and economic issues.

The conference is being held a week ahead of the African Summit in Libya, which will be attended by African heads of state on the issue of UN Reforms.

The OIC meeting acquires great significance as almost half of the countries at the OIC are also members of the African Union.

Therefore, observers feel decisions of the OIC were likely to have a significant bearing on the African Union conference.

Foreign Minister Kasuri is expected to meet a large number of foreign ministers on the sidelines of the conference to discuss bilateral, regional and international issues.—APP