Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Planning discussed with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) the proposal to designate Baghdad as the Capital of Islamic Tourism for the year 2028.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Planning’s media office, Minister Mohammed Tamim received Ms. Zahra Selçuk, Director of the Statistical, Economic, and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), along with her accompanying delegation. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Third Arab Tourism Statistics Forum held in Baghdad.
The two sides explored prospects for joint cooperation in various fields, particularly in tourism investment, aiming to enhance integration among OIC member states.
The meeting also discussed the possibility of selecting Baghdad as the Capital of Islamic Tourism for 2028, given its rich Arab and Islamic cultural and intellectual heritage and its significant development across multiple sectors. Ms. Selçuk expressed SESRIC’s support for Iraq’s request in this regard.
Additionally, the meeting addressed Iraq’s upcoming presidency of the Islamic Research Center in 2026, Iraq’s financial commitments to the center, and the Ministry of Planning’s participation in the center’s statistical committee meetings, scheduled to be held in Ankara, Turkey, from October 1 to 3.