APA-Banjul (The Gambia) Despite being a key player within the OIC, Turkey will send second tier delegation to the summit in Banjul over the weekend.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will not be attending the summit of heads of state and government of the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) which takes place in Banjul next weekend, APA learnt on Thursday.
Summit host President Adama Barrow took a personal phone call from Mr Erdogan who made it clear that the pressing state matters in Turkey would render him unavailable for the summit.
The Turkish leader would instead send a high-powered delegation to Banjul for the event.
It is still not confirmed which leaders and how many of them will attend just hours to the summit which will discuss issues of common concern to the 1.8 million-strong Muslim world such as the war in Gaza, the conflict in Sudan and the plight of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, climate change and socio-economic challenges facing member countries.