The Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS) will officially hold the first session of its general assembly next week in Kazakhstan in conjunction with the 7th round of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) ministerial conference that will tackle food security and agricultural development. 

During the conference, the ministers are expected to elect the members, director general and chairman of the Executive Board of the IOFS, approve the internal regulations of the organization’s secretariat and agree on the basic directions of the organization’s activity. 

The conference aims at exchanging expertise in food security and agricultural development. 

The preparations for the 1st General Assembly of the IOFS and the proposed five year plan of action of the IOFS will be discussed in the conference. 

The IOFS was first proposed by Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev in 2011 at the 38th session of the meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the OIC held in Astana and its implementation was one of the main priorities of Astana’s OIC chairmanship from June 2011 to November 2012. 

The charter, name, goals and objectives, legal status and functioning processes of the IOFS were agreed upon at a meeting in Astana on June 11-12, 2013. It was agreed that the IOFS should become an independent international organisation headquartered in Astana, with the same diplomatic immunity as the OIC.

Source: MENA