Egypt raises representation level at OIC summit in Turkey

Egyptian Foreign Ministry sources revealed that Cairo has decided to send Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry to attend the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit which will be held in the Turkish city of Istanbul this month.

The sources said that Egypt decided to raise the level of diplomatic representation to the summit after originally planning to dispatch a minister’s aide to hand over the summit’s presidency to Turkey in light of the tense relations between the two countries.

The sources pointed out that Cairo has responded to the Saudi demand to raise the level of diplomatic representation after securing promises to protect the Egyptian delegation from harassment by Egyptian opponents and Muslim Brotherhood members.

The Turkish presidency announced in a statement that nearly 30 heads of states and governments will attend the summit, adding that it expects parliament speakers and foreign ministers to also attend the summit.

The statement said that the Palestinian issue will be the main issue on the summit’s agenda, which includes supporting moves to hold an international peace conference to end the Israeli occupation, support the Ministerial Contact Group on Jerusalem and the adoption of a strategic plan for the development of Jerusalem.

The summit will also address the current situation in Syria, Yemen, Libya, Afghanistan, Somalia, Mali, Jammu and Kashmir, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Armenia’s attacks against Azerbaijan, alongside other Islamic countries in conflict.

Saudi Arabia has tried over the past period to reconcile relations between Egypt and Turkey before the summit.