The concluding session of the 12th Islamic Summit kicked off on Thursday 07/02/2013 under the chairmanship of Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi.

Morsi said that the summit witnessed discussions on very important issues for the Islamic nation. He added that all parties showed keenness on reinforcing the Islamic joint action and developing its mechanisms thus helping the nation to restore its status among other nations.

Morsi gave the floor to head of Cote d'Ivoire's delegation, Minister for African Integration Ally Coulibaly.

Iyad bin Amin Madani, who was chosen as new secretary general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as of January 2014, thanked Islamic leaders for their trust.

For his part, incumbent OIC chief Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu expressed gratitude for Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi for granting him Egypt's Grand Cordon of the Order of the Nile.

Head of Cote d'Ivoire's delegation and Minister for African Integration Ally Coulibaly said his country has high hopes that the Islamic world would emerge stronger after the summit to achieve its peoples' aspiration for peace and justice.

The Islamic world can not stand idle against the crisis in Mali and should unite to combat cross-border terrorism, he said. He hailed a decision to appoint Djibrill Bassole as the Islamic countries' special envoy to Mali.

For his part, Turkish President Abdullah said his country will host the next Islamic summit in 2016.

Gul voiced confidence in Egypt's ability to lead the Islamic organization successfully in the coming three years.