Islamabad — Somalia's Minister of Family and Human Rights Development, Khadija Mohamed Al-Makhzoumi, held a series of bilateral meetings with senior officials from member states and institutions of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on the sidelines of the OIC Women's Conference in Islamabad, her ministry said.

According to the ministry, Al-Makhzoumi met with the executive director of the OIC's Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC), the labour and social security minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), the director general of the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), Bangladesh's minister for women and children's affairs, the president of Egypt's National Council for Women, and the secretary-general of Saudi Arabia's Family Affairs Council.

The discussions focused on strengthening cooperation between Somalia and OIC member states, particularly in the areas of family development, human rights protection, women's empowerment, child welfare, social development and the exchange of expertise and best practices.

The meetings concluded with an understanding to expand cooperation and enhance partnerships aimed at supporting Somalia's priority social development programmes and improving public services, the ministry said.

Somalia's ambassador to Pakistan, Sheikh Noor Mohamed Hassan, accompanied the minister during the meetings.