Staying in South Korea away from his home Niger to attend a three-week-long conference, Muslim Mahaman Laouali Gonda can't give up the ritualistic practice of praying to Allah five times a day.

When the parliamentary secretary of the West African country first visited this southern port city of Busan to attend the 19th International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Plenipotentiary Conference that kicked off on Monday, Gonda knocked on the door of the ITU's office to get directions to a prayer room.

Two prayer rooms for men and women were located at the back of the main hall at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center, the conference venue, next to the public restroom. 

During his stay here, Gonda starts the day with his first prayer at dawn in his hotel room and continues his ritual, called salat in Arabic, in the small room between afternoon meetings and events to fulfill his obligations as a believer. 

"You can pray anywhere, but the place has to be clean. Your body and spirit also have to be clean," Gonda said during an interview with Yonhap News Agency after finishing his prayers.

Gonda is one of many Muslims attending the ITU conference on behalf of their governments to discuss global issues regarding information and communication along with some 3,000 delegates from around 170 countries. 

As the conference runs through Nov. 7 to elect council members and discuss key technology issues, Muslims are finding ways to continue their religious practices in Busan, which has one Mosque with a fraction of believers among its population of 3.5 million. 

Akhtar Bajwa, a senior telecom consultant at Optiwave from Pakistan, appreciated the ITU's policy that respects his religion.

The room has a clean carpet and a compass pointing to Mecca, the site of the House of God. Muslims are supposed to pray in the direction of the city in Saudi Arabia known as the birthplace of the prophet Muhammad.

"I think it's very thoughtful," the former member of the Radio Regulation Board at ITU said, getting prepared to wash his face and body before entering the room. 

It is small to allow five or six people at most, but prayers enjoy an equal right to use the room regardless of nationality or position, he said: "There's no VIP in front of God in this room."

As the United Nations agency specialized in technology, the ITU opens prayer rooms during the conference period in line with "U.N. non-denominational practice," Paul Conneally, head of ITU corporate communications division, said in an e-mail.

"While they are not expected to give up their national sentiments or their political and religious convictions, they shall at all times bear in mind the reserve and tact incumbent upon them by reason of their international status," according to Regulation 1.4 Conduct. 

Food is another issue Muslims face when they attend luncheons hosted by different nations or eat out in the city offering very little halal food, referring to meat slaughtered according to Muslim principles.

"It's really hard to find places to eat halal here," Bajwa said, noting a Thursday luncheon hosted by the Pakistani delegation drew many who eat halal meat. 

Reflecting their desperate search, Star Kebab, a Turkish restaurant located in northern Busan, has seen a large number of new customers since early this week, with most coming from the ITU conference. 

"Because Muslims don't have various options, they come here. In the dinner time, there's a long line, which is not quite normal," shop owner Kim Won-sook said. (Yonhap)