OIC Gaza contact group to visit London, Paris

ANKARA

As part of the efforts to end the ongoing bloodshed in Gaza, a senior contact group comprising foreign ministers from seven prominent Muslim countries, including Türkiye, will visit London and Paris this week.

The Gaza Contact group was designed at the Riyadh summit of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League on Nov. 11 with the participation of the foreign ministers of Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Indonesia, Nigeria, Qatar, Jordan and Palestine.

The contact group had its first meeting in China on Nov. 20 and was scheduled to hold talks in Russia on Nov. 21. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had to skip these two meetings but will join the group in London and later in Paris. The group is expected to be received by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron.

According to the diplomatic sources, the contact group will visit the members of the U.N. Security Council as well as other prominent countries with global influence in order to immediately reach a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas as well as dispatch uninterrupted humanitarian aid to the enclave.

The group is also lobbying for a new engagement for lasting peace, stability and welfare in the Middle East by the establishment of an independent State of Palestine.