Islamic organization changes its name

Foreign ministers representing 57 Islamic states voted at a summit in Kazakhstan to change the name of their group to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The move drops the word "conference" from their title and puts "cooperation" in its place which the ministers decided better represents their goals, the Malaysian news agency Bernama reported Wednesday. "We should strengthen our cooperation, both internally and externally in all fields," said Yerzhan Kazykhanov, Kazakhstan's foreign minister. Malaysia's foreign minister, Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, said the relevance of the OIC in today's world was still being challenged in some quarters and its effectiveness has been a subject of debate. "We need to build on our strengths and abundant resources to raise OIC to be the voice it should be for the Muslim world," he said. The three-day conference that began Tuesday includes a number of side meetings, the Oman News Agency reported. The prime minister of Kazakhstan and Oman's foreign minister met separately to discuss bilateral relations, issues of common concern as well as the latest international developments.