International Desk

The preparatory meeting of the Senior Officials for the 15th Session of the Islamic Summit Conference kicks off in Banjul, capital of the Republic of The Gambia on 30th April, 2024, as the Islamic Summit Conference will be held on 4th and 5th of May 2024. The meeting is aimed at discussing documents of the sessions and submitting its report to the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers which will in its turn submit a report to the Islamic Summit.

At the beginning of the meeting, His Excellency, Dr. Abdalla Altayer - Advisor at the Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Multilateral Agency for International Affairs delivered a speech in the name of his country in his capacity as the Chairman of the Islamic Summit Conference in its 14th Session, presenting the valuable efforts and initiatives it carried out as well as the achievements of economics and science, as well as the numerous activities and conferences in various sectors organized by the Kingdom during its chairmanship of the previous session, expressing its support to the efforts of the OIC’s General Secretariat.

In his own part, Mr. Lang Yabou, Permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad on behalf of his country hosting the 15th Session of the Islamic Summit Conference welcomed the delegates of the Member State, affirming that his country is exerting concerted efforts towards ensuring success of the session under the theme “Enhancing Unity and Solidarity through Dialogue for Sustainable Development”.

The OIC Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, H.E. Mr. Yousef AlDobeay delivered a speech in which he presented his felicitation to the Republic of the Gambia as it becomes the Chairman of this session, renewing his appreciation to the Government of the Gambia for the arrangements made for hosting this Summit.

He also expressed his profound appreciation and gratitude to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its valuable and appreciable efforts and initiatives during its chairmanship of the 14th Islamic Summit. He also demonstrated its strong commitment to joint Islamic actions in line with the mission of the Organization, commending all the Kingdom's continued support to the Organization as the Headquarters State through its generous care and desire of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister.

The Assistant Secretary-General stated that this summit being held during a critical period witnesses very important developments in terms of various issues listed on the agenda of the OIC’s activities, foremost among which is the Palestinian Cause; the central issues of the Organization will be discussed alongside documents of the Summit, including issues of peace and security, Muslim minority communities in non-member States, as well as legal, humanitarian, social, cultural, economic, science and technology, information, administrative and financial matters.

The Banjul Summit represents a unique opportunity for the Member States to enhance their cooperation in order to promote joint Islamic action and engage in constructive dialogue on global issues and challenges facing the Islamic Ummah.