Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry attended the first day of the Extraordinary Summit on Palestine by the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jakarta, Indonesia on Sunday. Shoukry travelled to Jakarta on Saturday and is set to return on Monday. On Sunday, Shoukry met with the secretary general of the OIC Iyad Madani to discuss "the necessary arrangements for the summit and to stress the importance of the peace process in Palestine." According to a statement by Indonesia's foreign affairs ministry, those confirming their attendance include more than 500 delegates from the 49 OIC member states, four representatives from the Quartet on the Middle East (the United States, Russia, the United Nations, and the European Union), five UN Security Council representatives, and three observer countries. Senior officials will meet on Sunday while high-level meetings between heads of state will be held on Monday. Spokesperson for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry Ahmed Abu Zeid said that the summit is being held at the request of the Palestinian Authority, after increased violence in recent months, and restricted access to the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem by Israel. "The summit is expected to make decisions concerning the Palestinian issue in spite of the proliferation of armed conflicts in a number of Muslim countries," says Abu Zeid. source: Ahram Online
