ISTANBUL 

Turkey’s president on Monday headed to Geneva to co-chair the first Global Refugee Forum.  

Recep Tayyip Erdogan left on the Turkish presidential plane from Istanbul's Ataturk Airport at 10.55 a.m. local time (0755GMT). 

The Global Refugee Forum, hosted by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), serves as the main platform where state officials monitor the UN’s 2018 Global Compact on Refugees initiative. 

Erdogan is also expected to attend the opening ceremony of a photo and art exhibit entitled “Life continues, Art continues” spotlighting works by Syrian artists living in Turkey.

Turkey hosts some 3.6 million Syrian refugees, more than any other country in the world.

Erdogan is accompanied by a delegation of top Turkish officials including Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Finance and Treasury Minister Berat Albayrak, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank, Family, Labor and Social Services Minister Zehra Zumrut Selcuk, ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party acting Chair Numan Kurtulmus, and AK Party Deputy Chair Cevdet Yilmaz.

* Writing by Burak Dag