Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will attend the 52nd session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers in Baghdad on October 17-18, Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry has said.
Held under the theme “Dialogue and Solidarity: Two Essential Pillars for Promoting Peace and Sustainable Development”, the meeting will see Türkiye transfer the organisation’s rotating presidency to Iraq, which it has held since June 2025.
Discussions are expected to cover Israel’s actions in Gaza and across the occupied Palestinian territories, other conflicts in the Muslim world, counterterrorism, United Nations reform, Islamophobia and the situation of Muslim communities in non-member countries.
The meeting is expected to conclude with the adoption of the Baghdad Declaration.
Fidan to call for coordinated action on Palestine
In his address, Fidan is expected to describe Israel’s aggressive and expansionist policies as the biggest security threat to the Middle East and urge OIC members to coordinate their response with responsible international actors.
He is also expected to call for steps to protect Jerusalem’s status, oppose further moves by countries to relocate their embassies there, and reaffirm that a two-state solution leading to an independent Palestinian state is the only path to a just and lasting peace.
Fidan is expected to stress the need to ensure uninterrupted humanitarian aid reaches people in Gaza.
Regional security and freedom of navigation
The Turkish foreign minister is also expected to address rising tensions in the Gulf and around the Strait of Hormuz.
He is expected to emphasise the importance of ensuring safe and free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al Mandab for regional stability and global trade, while condemning Houthi militia attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure and reaffirming Türkiye’s solidarity with Saudi Arabia.
Fidan is also expected to call for the protection of Syria’s and Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, including a complete Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
OIC to discuss rights of Muslim communities
The meeting is also expected to address the rights of Turkish Cypriots, who face what Ankara describes as unjust isolation, as well as the fundamental rights and freedoms of the Muslim Turkish minority in Western Thrace and Muslim Turkish communities in the Dodecanese islands.
The OIC, established in 1969, has 57 member states and is the world’s second-largest intergovernmental organisation after the United Nations.
Türkiye is one of its 25 founding members and took over the rotating presidency at the previous Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Istanbul in June 2025.
Fidan is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with counterparts on the sidelines of the Baghdad gathering.
