DPM Dar reaches Saudi Arabia for OIC's extraordinary moot on Somaliland

• OIC session to discuss Israel’s recognition of Somaliland region: FO.
• Says DPM to hold bilateral meetings with other leaders on sidelines.
• Dar to also inaugurate new Pakistani consulate building in Jeddah.
  

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar reached Saudi Arabia on Saturday to attend an extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers scheduled to be held in Jeddah today.

DPM Dar was received in Madinah by Pakistan's Ambassador Ahmed Farooq and Consul General Mustafa Rabbani.

The OIC session will address the implications of Israel's recognition of the so-called Somaliland region of the Federal Republic of Somalia, the Foreign Office said in a statement.

The deputy prime minister is also scheduled to inaugurate the new building of the Pakistani consulate in Jeddah during his stay.

During the session, the FO said, the deputy prime minister will share Pakistan's position on the issue of Somaliland.

"On the sidelines, the foreign minister will also hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from OIC Member States to discuss further cooperation on regional and international issues," the FO added.

The extraordinary session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers is being held against the backdrop of Tel Aviv's becoming the first country to formally recognise the self-declared Republic of Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state.

Israel announced last month it was officially recognising Somaliland, a first for the self-proclaimed republic since it declared independence from Somalia in 1991.

Somaliland enjoys a strategic position on the Gulf of Aden and has its own currency, passport, and army, but has struggled to win international recognition, amid fears of provoking Somalia and encouraging other separatist movements in Africa.

—With additional input from AFP