Ahmed Faruque Hassan,Bangladesh correspondent, IOL

DHAKA, May 22 (IslamOnline.net) - Bangladesh officially nominated Thursday, May 22, Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s Parliamentary Affairs Advisor Salauddin Quader Chowdhury for the post of Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC), which will be vacant in December 2004.

Announcing the nomination to reporters in the weekly briefing at the Foreign Office, Foreign Secretary Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury said the country has launched a campaign to woo support for its candidate.

“Campaign has been launched in this regard and Ambassadors of OIC countries stationed in Dhaka have been approached. Bangladesh missions abroad have also been informed to do their job,” he added.

Chowdhury said the OIC secretariat and coordinated bureau of OIC in New York were also informed of the nomination.

No other country has yet announced intention to contest for the OIC prestigious post.

The Jeddah-based 57-nation OIC has been led since 2001 by Abdulwahed Belkeziz, a former foreign minister of Morocco.

On the Iraq issue, he said Bangladesh was firm on its stand that the U.N. must have a clear role in post-war Iraq.

The foreign secretary further said efforts were under way to ship relief supplies from Bangladesh to Iraq.