APA-Banjul (The Gambia) As expected the conflict in Palestine and the plight of the Rohinyga Muslims in Myanmar have dominated the opening session of the 15th summit of heads of state and government of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in the Gambian capital Banjul on Saturday.
Eight heads of state from The Gambia, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Djibouti, Sierra Leone, Republic of Northern Cyprus and Sudan are taking part.
Important players within the OIC such as Saudi Arabian crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iran’s Ibrahim Raisi are conspicuous by their absence.
They are represented by foreign ministers with strong delegations to the summit, the third in sub-Saharan Africa since those hosted by Senegal in 1991 and 2008.
The focus on Palestine and Myanmar comes as talks over a ceasefire got underway in Cairo, Egypt, seven months after the start of hostilities between Israeli troops and Hamas fighters who are blamed for a deadly incursion into Israel last October.
The Rohingya population in Myanmar which numbered over 1 million a decade ago has dwindled thanks to what is blamed on a policy of ethnic cleansing by the military authorities in recent years.
Opening the proceeding at the international conference centre outside Banjul, after asssuming the chairmanship of the OIC from Saudi Arabia, summit host President Barrow tempered his strong calls for justice for the Palestinians against Israeli aggression with a message of compassion, suggesting a peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
The OIC scribe also recommended the promotion and preservation of people’s rights and family values within the bloc’s membership and called on international fora to help in building the rights of children and peoples with specific needs.
Taha also enjoined member countries defaulting in their mandatory contributions to the OIC to double up and settle their arrears which would facilitate the smooth running of the organisation.
The summit took a 15-minute break from the opening session before resuming with closed-door meetings later on Saturday.
The two-day summit under the theme ‘Enhancing Unity and Solidarity Through Dialogue For Sustainable Development’ wraps up on Sunday, the high point of which would be the Banjul Declaration, capturing the positions of the OIC on the comtemporary issues and challenges affecting its member countries.
WN/as/APA