Iran hopes OIC summit will bring unity to Muslim world

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has expressed hope that the 13th summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the Turkish city of Istanbul will reinforce unity and integrity in the Muslim world.

Division and extremist dogma pose great threats to the Muslim world, Rouhani said in a meeting with high-ranking delegations of Iran and Kazakhstan in the presence of his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev in Tehran on Monday.

“We should have more cooperation in the fight against terrorism and extremism and ways to uproot differences in the Muslim world,” the Iranian president said.

He emphasized that various crises in the Middle East should be settled only through political approaches.

The Iranian president said Iran and Kazakhstan attach great importance to the establishment of security and stability in Afghanistan and believe that the national unity government in the war-torn country should be strengthened.

Rouhani added that terrorism has caused many problems in regional countries, particularly in Syria and Iraq.

“We regard political negotiations as the only final solution to the Syrian [crisis] and believe that all Syrian groups and tribes should make contribution to and be instrumental in the country’s future,” he pointed out.

The 13th annual OIC conference kicked off in Istanbul on Sunday with the main focus on the Palestinian cause, conflicts in member states and ways to fight terrorism.  Over 30 heads of state and government will participate in the summit which will be hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday and Friday.

The OIC summit will be held under the theme “Unity and Solidarity for Justice and Peace.” A resolution on the Palestinian issue and support for international efforts to relaunch a "collective political process" will be issued at the end of the summit.

Iran’s participation in the OIC conference

The Iranian head of Iran-Turkey Joint Economic Commission, Mahmoud Vaezi, said on Monday that President Rouhani will attend the OIC summit in Istanbul on Thursday and Friday, IRNA reported.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will also travel to Istanbul to take part in the meeting of OIC foreign ministers on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araqchi attended a two-day meeting of the OIC senior officials where they adopted the agenda of the event.

The OIC is the second largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations which has 57 member states spread over four continents.

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