The OIC summit organised periodically brings together heads of state and government from the Muslim world to pick minds on common regional, international and geopolitical interests and strengthen Islamic solidarity.
Since it was founded 54 years ago, the intergovernmental organisation which is seen as representing the ‘collective voice’ of the Islamic world has 57 member countries (27 of them in Africa) with a population of over 2 billion according to a 2021 estimate.
48 of them are Muslim-majority nations.
The Gambia OIC summit which was originally scheduled to hold in 2020 but was deferred thrice due to lack of preparedness would be held in Banjul in May next year, according to President Adama Barrow.
Africa’s smallest mainland country had failed to finish infrastructural projects such as dual carriageways, a summit hotel, an international conference centre, and VVIP lounge at the Banjul International Airport ahead of the November 2023 summit date.
Aside from the conference centre and the VVIP lounge which were completed a year ago, the other projects imperative to hosting the summit in Banjul could take several more months before their completion.
Speaking to journalists while returning from the Saudi-Africa summit in Riyadh recently, the Gambian leader said the new date for hosting the conference has been set for a date which was more realistic for his country.
He added: “We are the country that is supposed to host the next summit which was scheduled for the 16th of November this year but because of circumstances tied to security and other challenges we decided it’s better to push it further”.
President Barrow said the decision was reached after engagements at the highest level with other heads of state and the secretariat after which the new date was ”unanimously agreed as the best time to host the world’s second largest gathering of world leaders in the Gambia”.
WN/as/APA