DAMASCUS (Bernama/dpa) - His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Brunei Darussalam, yesterday attended the 36th Session of the Council of Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) now being held in the Syrian capital.

Damascus is hosting the three-day gathering until May 25, under the theme "Promoting Islamic Solidarity".

The ministers representing OIC's 57 member states are expected to explore a host of issues of concern to the Muslim world, including the Arab-Israeli conflict and Iraq.

They are also expected to look at OIC's future role in maintaining peace, security and resolving conflicts in member states.

In a speech delivered during the opening of the foreign ministers' meeting the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he saw little hope of striking a peace deal with Israel's new government which he described as the ' most extreme in its history'. - Borneo Bulletin (24th May 2009)