The 13th Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) kicked off in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Thursday.

The 13th Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) kicked off in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Thursday.

The host of the Islamic summit, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan personally welcomed all the 30 heads of the Islamic states which are present in Istanbul for the occasion.

Iranian President Hasan Rouhani arrived to the summit and is scheduled to address the Summit.

During 2-day meeting, Rouhani will have bilateral meetings with a number of his counterparts on the sideline of the meeting.

The OIC foreign ministers held meeting prior to the Summit in presence of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Ankara has said it wants to use the meeting to narrow differences between the world's estimated 1.7 billion Muslims but the gathering risks being bedevilled by disputes on issues ranging from Syria to Yemen.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the summit was being held at a time when "the Islamic world is experiencing many disputes within itself".

"Fratricidal conflict causes great pain. Sectarianism divides the Ummah," he told OIC foreign ministers on Tuesday, using the Arabic world for the Muslim community.

"Hopefully, this summit will pave the way for healing some wounds."