Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - The13th Islamic Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) kicked off early today in the Turkish city of Istanbul.

The summit, which is held under the theme "Unity and Solidarity for Justice and Peace", is chaired by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The Palestinian issue and the Arab-Israeli conflict, as well as the discord in the Islamic world, will figure high in the meeting of Muslim leaders, an OIC statement said Wednesday.

The statement added that topics of migration, Muslim communities condition in non-member states, counter terrorism and extremism, Islamofobia, the humanitarian situation in the Islamic world and OIC's ten-year plan are also expected to feature prominently during the talks.

The event gathered more than 30 heads of states and government, including Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, who is deputizing for His Majesty King Abdullah II.

According to Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency, this is the first time Turkey host the two-day summit since the body's inception in 1969.

During the summit, Egypt will hand over the presidency of the OIC to Turkey.

The summit is also aimed at boosting cooperation in the education, health and environment domains among member states.