Palestine's Abbas meets members of OIC-affiliated group

By Cigdem Alyanak

ISTANBUL (AA) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday met with the delegates of a youth forum affiliated with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul.

Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation’s (ICYF-DC) delegation was chaired by Ambassador Elshad Isgandarov.

Abbas said the project of declaring Jerusalem as the "Islamic World's Youth Capital" for 2018 was one of the "most important international acts of support".

Abbas expressed gratitude to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the support to the Palestinian cause and for holding the extraordinary OIC summit in Istanbul on Wednesday.

Isgandarov said the main goal of the "Al-Quds-OIC Youth Capital 2018" project was to prepare programs to be attended by young people from across the world.

The program aims to raise the international awareness of the rightful case of the Palestinian people, Isgandarov said.

In the meeting with Abbas, he provided further details on the project launched by the ICYF-DC.

The ICYF-DC, an Istanbul-based international organization affiliated with the OIC, aims to carry out advocacy for youth interests, supporting sustainable development, promoting formal and non-formal education, strengthening moral values of young generation and engaging in the dialogue among cultures and civilizations.