By: Alieu Jallow
The Gambia’s OIC Secretariat has informed journalists that over forty VIPs and VVIPs, including presidents and prime ministers, will attend the 15th edition of the Banjul Summit. The summit is currently underway at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara Centre, where foreign ministers discuss and debate on policies that the organization should implement.
With the climax of the summit set for May 4th and 5th, 2024, the country is gearing up to welcome heads of state and prime ministers. During a press conference, the CEO of the Gambia’s OIC Secretariat, Yankuba Dibba, said the next 48 hours will mark the epitome of guest arrivals.
“Today and in the next 48 hours, heads of state will be arriving, and all delegates have been assigned protocol,” CEO Dibba highlighted.
The $100 million Radisson Blu five-star hotel was planned to accommodate 60 presidential and royal suites, 400 high-end rooms, conference and meeting venues, a ballroom, fitness and business centers, and specialty restaurants, among other features. However, the hotel could not finish on time, so the secretariat has arranged accommodations in some local hotels in the country.
“No guest will be housed outside The Gambia. All of them will be hosted in The Gambia,” Nfally Fadera outlined.
Clearing the air on plans to park some of the traveling flights in Senegal, the newly appointed Minister of Information, Dr. Isnaila Ceesay, noted that it was a contingency plan depending on the wingspan of the flights that will be landing. However, he outlined that the country’s only airport can accommodate all the flights carrying visiting dignitaries.
“Even if it occurs, that is if we take some to park in Senegal’s Yoff International Airport, this is part of the bilateral agreement between The Gambia and Senegal, and if it comes at no cost to The Gambia, it’s for free. But it might not happen; we have a situation where there is enough parking at the airport for the planes coming and going to park there. If it occurs that there is any need, it will have no financial cost on The Gambia. Senegal will do it free of charge,” Dr. Ceesay clarified.
