Turkey, as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) chairperson, is hoping that Malaysia, which is deemed an important member of the organisation, can continue playing its roles in tackling current issues concerning Muslims.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said this was conveyed to him during his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and OIC secretary-general Iyad Ameen Madani.

"They have high hopes on Malaysia to help the OIC secretariat and Turkey in tackling the challenges faced by OIC member countries in particular and the Islamic world in general.

"It means that Malaysia's leadership still shines in the context of OIC, they still have respect for Malaysia and hope that Malaysia can contribute to OIC," he told the Malaysian media in Istanbul today.

Najib is leading the Malaysian delegation at the 13th session of the OIC summit in Istanbul.

Themed 'Unity and Solidarity For Justice and Peace', the summit, which began yesterday, is participated by Muslim leaders from 57 countries.

Among the topics of discussions were Muslim solidarity, Islamophobia, militant threats and Palestine issues.

Najib said he also stressed on the concept of wasatiyyah (moderation) in facing current challenges.

"I have also proposed for us to give emphasis on unity and solidarity among the OIC member countries as this is the weakness which has been haunting many Islamic nations.

"I also stressed the importance of the wasatiyyah, a concept that promotes Muslims as moderate people, the best people, which becomes the basic principle for Muslim nations based on the spirit of mutual respect even with the non-Muslims, as well as social justice values," he said.

Najib said he had also raised issues concerning the Southeast Asia region which should be given attention by the OIC, including the security issue in southern Philippine and southern Thailand, as well as the issue of Rohingya refugees.

On the sidelines of the summit, Najib also held meetings with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu and Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir.

- Bernama