The D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation will convene in Egypt’s Cairo on Thursday with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Erdoğan’s visit was announced only hours before by the Directorate of Communications, while Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was already in the Egyptian capital to attend another session of the summit.
Fahrettin Altun, head of the Directorate of Communications, said Erdoğan would travel to Egypt for the 11th edition of the summit and would address the event, as well as a session focused on the situation in Palestine and Lebanon, whose prime minister was in Ankara on Wednesday to meet Erdoğan.
Türkiye is a fierce critic of Israel’s now yearlong war on the blockaded Palestinian enclave Gaza and its deadly push into Lebanon and Syria, accusing the United Nations of failing to sanction Israel over the conflicts and its Western allies of supporting its violent methods.
Israel has continued its devastating offensive on Gaza since an attack last year by Hamas, despite a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.
More than 45,000 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 102,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.
The Turkish president will hold bilateral talks with other leaders attending the summit to discuss global and regional issues, especially Syria and Palestine, according to Altun.
The D-8 member countries are Iran, Türkiye, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Egypt and Nigeria. The organization was formed in 1997 through the Istanbul Declaration of the Summit of Heads of State.