JEDDAH — The 13th Islamic Summit Conference of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), that begins in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Thursday, is set to approve the establishment of a center for cooperation and coordination among police organizations in the member countries in their collective bid to combat terrorism and violent extremism as well as cross-border and organized crimes, Saudi Gazette has learnt from OIC sources. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman is among the more than 30 heads of state and leaders from 56 member countries who will attend the summit at the Conference Center of Istanbul. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will inaugurate the summit, with the theme of "Unity and Solidarity for Justice and Peace." There will be brainstorming sessions on 12 key documents, the top of which is resolving conflicts and unrest plaguing the Islamic world. The summit's agenda also includes the Palestinian issue and the Arab-Israeli conflict, fighting terrorism, radicalism and Islamophobia, as well as the humanitarian situation in the member states, and the OIC's 10-Year (2016-25) Program of Action. According to OIC sources, Turkey has proposed that the police center be based in Istanbul. The General Secretariat of OIC is set to be entrusted the task of convening an open-ended meeting of experts in both legal and security fields to complete the draft statute for the center, which will be an affiliated organ of the pan-Islamic body. Separate preparatory sessions of the senior officials and of the foreign ministers, held from Sunday to Wednesday, finalized the agenda of the summit and the final communique called "Istanbul Declaration." Erdogan, who will take over the OIC presidency from Egypt, met with the organization's Secretary General Iyad Madani on Tuesday to review the overall preparations and the summit's agenda. The issues of women and children will also figure in the summit. The OIC General Secretariat will be entrusted the task to develop a strategy for child welfare and well-being. The summit seeks to engage religious scholars in maintaining the children's well-being and their physical health, through inviting scholars and imams to support polio eradication campaigns and encouraging people to respond to them. It will also formulate strategies to prevent children from being lured into deviant and extremist ideologies. The summit will also discuss ways to advance and empower women in the member countries. Sources said that the issue of vaccines and strengthening immunity in Islamic countries occupied a great deal of the summit's preparatory deliberations. The leaders will urge countries to ease restrictions on traveling to Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia in the wake of Ebola virus. The leaders will discuss a proposal submitted by Algeria that opposes any military intervention in Libya. The summit is likely to favor creating a political climate conducive to the work of the Government of National Accord of Libya, headed by Fayez Al-Sarraj, which is trying to focus the legitimate authorities in one government, and ending the state of division prevailing in the country since the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi's regime. The summit will discuss the current situation in Lebanon and the implications of the issue of displaced Palestinians and Syrians in the country. According to a draft resolution, summit affirms the need for supporting and backing Lebanon in its efforts to host the displaced Syrians. It also welcomes the dialogue between the Lebanese political parties to overcome differences and ease political tension and push national reconciliation and coexistence.
