26 heads of states meet in Cairo on challenges facing Muslim world

Senegalese President Macky Sall, who led the OIC 11th summit, handed over summit presidency to his Egyptian counterpart Mohamed Morsi, who gave a warm welcome to the participant heads of states and dignitaries.

In his opening speech, Morsi denounced extremism and Islamophobia as major challenges facing the Muslim world.

With regards to the Syrian conflict, Morsi urged all Syrian opposition factions to unite to solve the Syrian crisis, reaffirming Egypt's rejection of foreign military interference in Syria.

The Egyptian president also said the Palestinian issue was one of the major challenges facing the Islamic states and "a cornerstone to achieve security and stability in the Middle East region and the whole world."

Describing the Palestinian issue as "our central cause and the great goal of our organization," Morsi urged member states to support the Palestinian people "to restore their legitimate rights and establish their own sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital city."

He congratulated the Palestinian people on the United Nations General Assembly's decision to grant the Palestinians the status of a non-member observer state.

Meanwhile, Morsi expressed concern over the escalating situation in Mali, stressing Egypt's support for the unity of Malian territories and the safety of its people.

Morsi called for "the establishment of an active mechanism to peacefully settle disputes and deal with all the crises facing Islamic states."

Afterwards, Saudi Arabia's Deputy Prime Minister Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz made a statement on behalf of Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, where he stressed that the Arab-Israeli conflict was the major challenge facing the Muslim world.

The Saudi prince condemned alleged Israeli aggression on the Palestinians and Israel's settlement construction policies, voicing support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state as an enhancement of peace and security in the region.

Regarding Syria, Abdulaziz highlighted the worsening humanitarian conditions of displaced Syrians due to almost two years of bloodshed, calling on the international community, particularly the United Nations Security Council, to take necessary measures "to deter the crimes committed against Syrian people and complete transfer of power by all possible means."

Continue reading here