ABU DHABI // A proposal by the UAE to draft a five-year plan to face the growing challenges in the region has been approved by 33 member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Indonesia this year.
After the first day of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States (PUIC) conference, a proposal to draft a declaration made by the Federal National Council has been approved to be overseen by a newly formed technical committee, Wam, the state news agency, reported yesterday.
The plan will look into maintaining "peace, stability and development of peoples of Muslim countries", the statement said. "Our stability, security and the growth of our people relies on effective cooperation, solidarity and building concord on major threats and challenges," the draft declaration says.
Wam reports that the declaration called for "realistic" solutions to problems faced by countries in the region.
Mohamed Al Mur, a speaker of the FNC from Dubai, said the meeting came during critical times for member states in the union.
He said the past three years had seen development in the nature of the work of the union, and the different committees that fall under it.
He said work needed to be combined to help member countries in the region, in line with Islamic values.
He said exchanging expertise was vital, as well as discussing the economy, culture, and the social and political situation in the countries.
The conference will run until the end of the month.
From the FNC, Rashad Bukash and Marwan bin Ghalita, both from Dubai, Dr Sheikha Al Owais and Ahmed Al Zaabi, from Sharjah, and Sultan Al Shamsi, from Ajman, were nominated to be members of the union, representing the UAE.
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Three-day coronation
Royal purification
The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.
The crown
Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.
The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.
The audience
On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.
The procession
The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.
Meet the people
On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.
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