Humanitarian Trust Fund for Afghanistan: OIC | 21 Dec 2021

Why in News

A meeting of foreign ministers from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) agreed to establish a humanitarian trust fund to address the growing economic crisis in Afghanistan which has left millions facing hunger over the winter.

• The meeting is the biggest major conference on Afghanistan since the fall of the US-backed government.
• In July 2021, India rejected the OICs proposal to assist a dialogue between India and Pakistan.

Key Points

• Humanitarian Trust Fund:
  • The fund will be set up under the Islamic Development Bank to channel aid to Afghanistan in coordination with other groups.
  • Allowing Afghanistan access to its financial resources would be pivotal to preventing economic collapse and said realistic pathways to unfreezing billions of dollars in frozen central bank reserves should be explored.
    • The meeting also called on the international community to provide urgent and sustained humanitarian aid to Afghanistan as well as to the main countries housing Afghan refugees.
• Trust Fund by United Nation:
  • The United Nations (UN) has also set up a special trust fund to provide urgently-needed cash directly to Afghans through a system that taps into donor funds frozen since the Taliban takeover in August
  • It was set up with the aim of injecting liquidity into Afghan households in a bid to permit them to survive the upcoming winter and remain in their homeland.
  • Germany is a first contributor to the fund. It had pledged 50 million euros (USD58 million) for it.

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation

• About:
  • The OIC is the second largest intergovernmental organisation after the United Nations with a membership of 57 states.
  • It is the collective voice of the Muslim world. It endeavors to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the world.
  • It was established upon a decision of the historical summit which took place in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco on the 25^th of September 1969.
  • Headquarters: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

• India’s relationship with OIC as an organisation:
  • At the 45^th session of the Foreign Ministers’ Summit in 2018, Bangladesh, the host, suggested that India, where more than 10% of the world’s Muslims live, should be given Observer status, but Pakistan opposed the proposal.
  • In 2019, India made its maiden appearance at the OIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting, as a “guest of honour”.
    • This first-time invitation was seen as a diplomatic victory for India, especially at a time of heightened tensions with Pakistan following the Pulwama attack.
• India’s relationship with OIC member countries:
  • India is not a member of the OIC. However, India was invited as a guest of honour at the 46^th Session of the Council of Foreign Minister in 2019.
  • Individually, India has good relations with almost all member nations.
  • Ties with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, especially, have improved significantly in recent years.
    • The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi (UAE) was a special chief guest at the 68^th Republic Day celebrations in 2017.

Source: IE