President Ersin Tatar left the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus this morning to attend the 15th Organization of Islamic Cooperation Heads of State and Government Summit.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, of which the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is an observer member, will convene in Gambia, the smallest country in West Africa, between the 4th and 5th of May. The summit will be held with the theme “Strengthening unity and solidarity through dialogue for sustainable development.”

President Ersin Tatar will also attend the summit, delivering a speech and holding a variety of contacts. At the summit to be held in Banjul, the capital of Gambia, President Ersin Tatar will address the participating Heads of State and Governments. According to the information given by the Presidency, Tatar will request support from the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to end the isolation policy imposed on the Turkish Cypriot people by the Greek Cypriot leadership and thank them for the solidarity shown so far.

In his contacts within the scope of the summit, President Tatar will inform his interlocutors about the stage reached on the Cyprus issue and share his vision for the confirmation of the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot people in order to move to a new and official process within the framework of the grounds laid out in the unofficial 5 + UN Geneva talks.

In addition to high-level bilateral meetings, President Tatar will also give interviews to various media organizations within the scope of the summit. The OIC, which is a permanent member of the United Nations, is considered the largest international organization after the UN with 57 members. 

The organization has 5 observer members including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Central Africa, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Thailand, and Russia.