India invited as ‘guest of honour’ to IOC meeting

New Delhi: Fifty years after India was humiliated and virtually thrown out of the inaugural session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the Moroccan Capital Rabat in 1969 after Pakistani insistence, India has now been invited as a “guest of honour” by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the OIC meet to be held at Abu Dhabi on March 1 and 2.

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj will represent India and is expected to raise the issue of terrorism during her deliberations there. Recognising it as a huge diplomatic success, a jubilant New Delhi accepted the invite and termed it as “recognition of the presence of 185 million Muslims in India, their contribution to its pluralistic ethos and of India’s contribution to the Islamic world”.  

New Delhi also praised the UAE, saying it saw the invitation “as the desire of the enlightened leadership of the UAE to go beyond our rapidly growing close bilateral ties and forge a true multifaceted partnership at the multilateral and international level”. Praising New Delhi, the UAE in its statement also referred to the “friendly Republic of India with all its international political weight, diverse cultural heritage and important Islamic component”.

Sources said consultations between the UAE and India had been on for the past few months on this. Saudi Arabia was also apparently consulted by the UAE on this. Sources also said the invitation was a reflection of India’s standing globally and in the Islamic world, with New Delhi enjoying excellent relations with several Islamic nations including the UAE and Saudi Arabia who are both leading lights in the OIC.

The move is bound to stun Pakistan, which for 50 years opposed Indian participation at the OIC. Ironically, OIC till now—much to Pakistan’s delight—has been extremely critical of India on the Kashmir issue and has previously used extremely harsh language against New Delhi. New Delhi too had been regarding the OIC as an “anti-India” organisation.  But now the invitation is being seen as a turning point, with India expected to counter Pakistani  propaganda at the forum. This could eventually pave the way for observer’s status or even full membership for India.

The OIC  is a 56 nation-body and terms itself as “the collective voice of the Muslim world”, adding that “it endeavors to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world”. Most of the OIC member-nations have a Muslim majority but not all. Countries like Russia and Thailand which have Muslim minorities are among the observers. This means that India can technically apply for observer status or even full membership. However, any such move is bound to be opposed by Islamabad which could argue that India should not be granted membership as it has a “dispute” with an OIC member-nation (Pakistan). But sources pointed out that Pakistan—which is in a precarious financial position and heavily dependent for a bailout on both Saudi Arabia and the UAE—has considerably less leverage than before.

Sources pointed out that even when India’s relations with the OIC as a forum were rock-bottom, New Delhi’s individual ties with most leading OIC member-nations were excellent. These individual ties are now set to bring about a change in the relationship between India and the OIC as a forum.
 
In a statement, the MEA said, “The 46th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation will be held in Abu Dhabi on 1st and 2nd March, 2019. The Minister for External Affairs Smt. Sushma Swaraj has been invited by HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates as the “Guest of Honour” to address the Inaugural Plenary.”

The MEA added, “We see this invitation as the desire of the enlightened leadership of the UAE to go beyond our rapidly growing close bilateral ties and forge a true multifaceted partnership at the multilateral and international level. We see this invitation as a milestone in our comprehensive strategic partnership with the UAE. We also see this invitation as a welcome recognition of the presence of 185 million Muslims in India and of their contribution to its pluralistic ethos, and of India’s contribution to the Islamic world. India is, therefore, happy to accept the invitation to attend the Inaugural Plenary of the OIC meeting and we thank the leadership of the UAE for their invitation.”

Way back in September 1969 when the OIC was being formed, India—-then led by Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s Government—-had been invited by the host Morocco to participate as a member due to the efforts of then Indian Ambassador in Morocco Gurbachan Singh. But the invitation was swiftly withdrawn after Pakistani military dictator Gen. Yahya Khan opposed it and threatened to boycott the conference. The Indian delegation—led by then union minister Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (who later became President of India)—had by then arrived in Rabat but was requested to withdraw from the conference.