The Gambia has lost its right to host the 2019 Islamic Summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) according to authoritative sources in the corridors of powers.

The OIC Islamic Summit is the largest gathering of Muslims heads of states and governments and convenes every three years. The Gambia won the right to host the 14^th Islamic Summit in 2016 at the OIC Summit in Turkey.

However sources said it has been stripped of the hosting rights due to inadequate and poor infrastructure to accommodate the 57 heads of state and kings and their large entourage. The Saudi King alone usually travelled with a large delegation of over 500 officials including security personnel.

The Gambia was deemed to be lacking the essential infrastructure to host a conference of such magnitude. A replacement is yet to be announced.

Foreign Minister, Dr. Mamadou Tangara, had embarked on a charm offensive in OIC member states. He was in Niger last week to meet with President Issoufou Mahamadou.

“We will request for the summit to be held in The Gambia in 2022 for better preparation,” Dr. Tangara told journalists in Niamey.

The Gambia’s hosting bid suffered from poor planning and lack of funding to foot the huge hosting bill. Saudi Arabia, the biggest donor to the OIC, had pledged to provide funds for the construction of roads and the VIP Lounge at the Banjul International Airport.

Turkey another big donor provided training for the Gambia security personnel in VIP protection and Protocol.

Kazakhstan provided the funds towards the operational cost of the Secretariat of the OIC in The Gambia

The People’s Republic of China is constructing the summit centre as a ‘gift’ to the Gambia government.

Gambian Officials at the OIC summit organising secretariat were tight-lipped about this setback. The conference was an opportunity for the Gambia to showcase herself to potential investors from the Gulf Arab states and attract investments in the tens of millions.

The government had laid out a development blueprint that would have improved the country’s poor infrastructure. The government had planned to construct a 100km road construction that include the expansion of the Bertil Harding Highway, starting from Sting Corner to the Airport Junction, the construction of a new Five-star hotel with 400 rooms; the construction of a new VIP lounge at the Banjul International Airport; the construction of new water production plant and enhanced Power Transmission and Distribution Network.

It is not clear whether the OIC will allow the Gambia to host the 2022 summit.