UN, Islamic Bloc Sign Humanitarian Agreement

United Nations: The UN has signed an agreement with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to intensify cooperation on humanitarian issues like relief coordination and preparedness for disasters and crises. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos, who is also UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, signed the agreement with Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the Secretary-General of the 57-nation grouping OIC, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Amos said the agreement would formalise existing plans to cooperate more with OIC to save lives at a time of growing humanitarian emergencies in the region. The agreement includes a framework for regular dialogue and information exchanges between the OIC and the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The OIC is an international organisation consisting of 57 member states. It has a permanent delegation to the United Nations, and considers itself the largest international organisation outside of the United Nations.