Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday hosted the leaders and ministers present in the country's central Konya province for the opening ceremony of 5th Islamic Solidarity Games.
The president declared the games open, which will continue till Aug. 18 with the participation of more than 4,000 athletes from 56 countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
Erdoğan attended the opening ceremony along with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev, President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Ersin Tatar, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Algerian Prime Minister Ayman Benabderrahmane, and Saudi Arabia's Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal Al Saud, who is also serving as the president of the Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation.
On the sidelines of the event, Erdoğan held separate meetings with Aliyev, Al-Faisal, Benabderrahmane and Shtayyeh. No further information was released on the closed-door meetings.
The Turkish leader also hosted a dinner in honor of the heads of state and government who attended the ceremony.
"On the occasion of the 5th Islamic Solidarity Games, I welcome all participants from different corners of the Islamic world who visit our country, and wish success to each of our athletes.
"I invite all sports fans, especially our youth, to this beautiful event in Konya," Erdoğan said on Twitter.
