Jeddah: Syria's membership in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which had been suspended for 13 years, has been reactivated following an initiative by Trkiye.

According to Anadolu Agency, Trkiye's proposal during the OIC Extraordinary Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting in Jeddah facilitated the reinstatement of Damascus into the OIC. The agenda for the meeting included the discussion on Syria's membership, which saw active participation from Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

During the meeting, the draft resolution to reinstate Syria's membership was adopted, marking the end of a 13-year suspension. As a result, Syrian Foreign Minister Assad Hassan Shaibani was invited to join the meeting, representing Syria once again at the OIC table.

The initial suspension of Syria's membership occurred after the OIC's ministerial-level Extraordinary Executive Committee meeting on June 24, 2012, in Jeddah. The committee recommended the suspension due to the escalating violence by the Bashar al-Assad regime against its own citizens. The decision was later ratified at the 4th Extraordinary OIC Summit held in Mecca on August 14-15, 2012.