JEDDAH: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit meeting in Turkey starting today aims to tackle extremism and Islamophobia.

This is according to Iyad Madani, secretary-general of the OIC, who said in a speech that the only way this could be successful was for all member countries of the organization to work together. This has been the demand of people living in these countries, he said in a report published Wednesday.

Madani also said that the meeting would seek to provide solutions for other problems, including the challenges faced by people from Palestine, Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia and Yemen. There would also be efforts made to assist refugees fleeing conflict in their countries.

He said he was proud to address the ministerial preparatory meeting for the 13th session of the Islamic Summit, where the agenda for the summit would be finalized on joint action facing Muslims globally.

The OIC’s foreign ministers had discussed items Tuesday for the summit entitled “Unity and Solidarity for Justice and Peace.” At the beginning of the meeting, Hisham Badr, Egyptian assistant foreign minister for multilateral affairs, delivered a speech hailing the efforts of the OIC to assist Muslims across the globe.