Ban meets with OIC Secretary-General, others in Washington D.C

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has met with the Secretary-General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Mr Iyad Madani, in Washington D.C.

This is contained in a ``readout" issued to UN correspondents in New York by the UN spokesman, Stephane DuJarric, on Thursday night.

The New Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ban and Madani met on the sideline of the two-day Summit on Violent Extremism organised by the U.S. Government in Washington D.C.

According to the readout, the two scribes discussed international efforts to counter violent extremism.

Ban had an exchange of views with Madani on the Middle East Peace Process and situations in Iraq, Yemen and Syria.

He also called for continued OIC support in addressing these issues.

Ban also met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Chad, Mr Moussa Mahamat.

According to the readout, Ban and Mahamat exchanged views on the security situation related to the spread of Boko Haram to the Lake Chad Basin region.

They also discussed the situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) and reiterated their support to the Brazzaville process.

Ban also met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, Mr Abdul Ali, and discussed cooperation between the United Nations and the Government of Bangladesh.

The secretary-general thanked Bangladesh for its contributions to the work of the United Nations, in particular to peacekeeping operations.

He also expressed his concern regarding the loss of lives and political violence that have occurred in Bangladesh since the beginning of 2015.

The secretary-general encouraged the Government of Bangladesh to seek concrete ways to de-escalate the situation and to engage constructively the opposition, for the long-term stability and development of the country.