Pakistan's prime minister on Saturday urged Muslim states to have good ties with the West for dealing with threats like nuclear proliferation and terrorism, the country's state-run news agency reported. Shaukat Aziz made the call in an opening address at a meeting of several senior officials from the Organization of Islamic Conference, the world's largest 57-member Muslim bloc, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported. Aziz said Muslims faced threats such as poverty, territorial disputes and denial of justice, APP reported. He said that those threats have been compounded by new threats of nuclear proliferation, terrorism, extremism and the "increased use of unilateralism." A new relationship between Muslims and the West built on mutual respect, tolerance and understanding needs to evolve to effectively deal with these threats, Aziz said, APP reported. The two-day meeting of the "commission of eminent personalities" from OIC states will discuss how to reform the body. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the OIC's secretary general, and Syed Hamid Albar, foreign minister of Malaysia, the current leader of the bloc, are also attending the conference.
