In preparation to hold the 15th International Islamic Conference Summit in The Gambia, a delegation of top officials was on Wednesday at The Gambia’s OIC Secretariat to discuss the Organisational and Technical Arrangement (OTA) for the summit. The officials proceeded on a tour and site visit of various project works.
The mission was led by the Assistant Secretary General of Political Affairs, H.E. Ambassador Yousef AI Dobeay, Team leader of the Bertil Harding Highway project Abdelrahim Mohamed Abdelrahim, and Structural Engineer Ebrima Cham.
The Chief Executive Officer of the OIC Secretariat, Yankuba Dibba, said the site visit was part of the processes that a country that is supposed to host the OIC would go through.
As the first project was completed called the VVIP Lounge at the Airport, Mr Dibba said the lounge is a gateway for the delegates to pass and proceed to their various hotels.
The VVIP Lounge project is worth 10.5 million dollarsand funded by the Saudi Fund for Development.
The main projects that are critical for holding the summit are above 50% complete, said Kabiru Jammeh, project manager of Civil Aviation at the Lounge.
Factoring the challenges that are impeding progress of the OIC work, Mr Jammeh said the major problems they face are the weather, relocation of services (since some roads are built in densely populated areas), moving electrical and power lines and water pipes, and internet connectivity.
Mr Jammeh emphasised the nation’s readiness to welcome delegates to the lounge to successfully host the summit.
Meanwhile, a memorandum of understanding was signed between The Gambia OIC Secretariat and the OIC Secretariat based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which reflects the agreement between the two regarding the Organisational and Technical Arrangements (OTA) for the 15th Islamic Summit to be held on 16 and 17 December 2023 in Banjul.
