Sudan’s al-Bashir to attend Islamic meeting in Turkey over Jerusalem
December 11, 2017 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir will head to Istanbul Tuesday to take part in an urgent meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) over Jerusalem.
The purpose of the extraordinary head of states and government meeting is to coordinate a response to the recognition by U.S. President Donald Trump of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
On Wednesday 6 December, immediately after Trump made public his decision on Jerusalem, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan who is also the head of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation called for an extraordinary meeting on 13 December to take a unified reaction to this development.
Bashir travel to Turkey was announced on Monday evening by official Sudan News Agency (SUNA).
The Sudanese presidency last Wednesday said that President al-Bashir had received a telephone call from President Erdogan who invited him to the extraordinary Islamic summit over the holy city.
Speaking in Istanbul on Sunday 10 December President Erdogan said he explained to the OIC leaders that the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital violates the international law, diplomacy and humanity.
“With the roadmap, we will create during the OIC meeting, we will show that (Trump’s) decision will not be easy to implement,” he said.
Founded in 1969, the OIC comprises 57 member states representing over 1.6 billion Muslim. Its purpose is to “safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony”.
(ST)