Istanbul prepares for OIC summit

There are as many as 110 items on the OIC meeting agenda, including the deteriorating situation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iraq, Cyprus, international terrorism and the U.S.-proposed Greater Middle East Initiative, officials said.

A meeting of foreign ministers of countries bordering Iraq is also expected to take place on the sidelines of the OIC meeting. The meeting, which was first hosted by Turkey prior to the U.S.-led war in Iraq, was later held in several capitals, including Damascus and Tehran.

Both the OIC and NATO meetings pose a major security task for Turkey. According to Turkish officials, the OIC meeting will be a sort of "rehearsal" for the NATO summit on June 28-29, and the same security measures that will be enforced for the NATO summit will be taken for safety of the OIC meeting.

Among the numerous items that will be discussed at the meeting, two are of special importance to Turkey: diplomatic efforts to end the international isolation of the Turkish Cypriots and Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu’s bid for the post of OIC secretary-general.

Turkey has been lobbying OIC members to boost backing for Turkish Cypriots after their vote in support of a U.N. plan for reunification of the island. Hopes run high that ministers will endorse plans at the Istanbul meeting to upgrade the level of representation of the Turkish Cypriots and start referring to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) as the "Turkish Cypriot State" instead of the current "Turkish Cypriot Community."

KKTC Foreign Minister Serdar Denktas has visited OIC members Pakistan and Bangladesh, seeking the two countries’ support for efforts to help the Turkish Cypriots out of their international isolation. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul was also in Saudi Arabia on Monday for talks with officials and is planning to visit Egypt soon.

Officials said Turkey’s expectations were not confined to improvements in the level of representation and added that restrictions imposed on economic, social and cultural ties with the KKTC should also be lifted.

Optimism for Ihsanoglu’s bid
Turkey will be watching the OIC Istanbul meeting with special interest due to the scheduled election of the organization’s new secretary-general. Candidates from two other countries, Malaysia and Bangladesh, are also running for the post.

According to Turkish officials, the chances of success are high for Professor Ihsanoglu, given his extensive qualifications and 24 years of working with the OIC, both of which make him an appropriate choice for the post. The OIC needs a secretary-general who can successfully handle reform and restructuring, and Ihsanoglu looks a good fit, said one official.

Malaysia held the post of secretary-general once in the past, which, according to OIC tradition, makes a second term rather unlikely. The Bangladeshi candidate’s weakness lies in some past allegations against him.

Logo symbolizes heaven and eternity
An octagonal logo has been designed for the meeting. The shape symbolizes heaven and eternity, and a sketch of the Bosphorus represents the juncture at which East and West, Asia and Europe meet.