The chief executive officer of the OIC Gambia Secretariat, Yankuba Dibba, has provided updates on the summit’s preparations. He has revealed that certain aircraft belonging to prominent summit attendees will be parked at the former Yoff Airport in Dakar, Senegal, due to insufficient parking space at the Banjul International Airport.
Speaking at the weekly government press conference, Ambassador Dibba was quick to refute accusations that The Gambia’s housing shortage is the reason for this arrangement, claiming that the nation can hold even more than 5000 delegates.
Advertisement – He declared that the government has paid more than D400 million to organise the summit and that the OIC secretariat is fully prepared to host it.
Accommodation-wise, we already have additional rooms available. We have enough space to accommodate 5000 visitors in the nation, even without the planned five-star hotel. The airport’s capacity to handle no more than 15 aircraft in addition to regularly scheduled flights makes parking for the aircraft the only issue. Consequently, we have been allowed to use the former Yoff Airport for aircraft parking for heads of state who may choose to stay longer thanks to our partnership with Senegal’, CEO Dibba stated.
Regarding transportation, CEO Dibba revealed that approximately 400 vehicles are used to transport delegates during the summit. Of these, 100 are donated by the Mauritanian government to the Gambia, 100 are purchased by the Gambia government, and D100 million is provided for car rentals.
Advertisement – Mr. Dibba also disclosed that all delegates will receive full catering, and each head of state will have a staff of chefs and waiters to serve them. The Moroccan government has stepped in to handle food and catering for all heads of state attending the summit.
“To feed all of our delegates, we have contracted out the catering. We can feed them all for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with the amount of food we have. It follows that there are no problems with food, lodging, or transportation. Indeed, there are occasionally difficulties, but we have overcome them all, therefore nothing will prevent us from reaching the summit, the speaker stated.
He said that the summit would consist of sessions for senior state officials and ambassadors, followed by a meeting of heads of state and ministerial council.
According to Mr. Dibba, more than 300 delegates from Saudi Arabia were scheduled to arrive yesterday evening, along with the first group of delegates, which included the OIC secretary general.