Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers his speech during the opening ceremony of the Kuala Lumpur Summit in Kuala Lumpur on December 19, 2019. (AFP / Mohd RASFAN)
Kuala Lumpur: President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed Thursday that the Islamic world was not weak, and that there was no gap in capabilities between Muslims and other people around the world.
Speaking at the Kuala Lumpur Summit 2019 which runs this year under the theme of The Role of Development in Achieving National Sovereignty, Erdogan said that the fate of the world's 1.7 billion Muslims is no longer in the hands of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
He said that as they try to silence Turkey when calling attention to Palestine, Gaza, the Rohingya, Libya, Somalia and Syria, they replay by saying that the world is bigger than five.
Erdogan noted that the Muslim world's contribution was not on par with its capability, as it currently represents 10 percent of the global economy despite having 59 and 58 percent of the global oil and gas reserves. He noted that 94% of those killed in global conflicts are Muslims, and that one in three weapons sold globally are sent to the Middle East.
He also said that participants in the summer will discuss strategic areas including defense, energy, advanced technology and finance.
"We will have the opportunity to talk freely about our issues, from Islamophobia to terrorism, divisions, internal fights ravaging our region, and sectarian and ethnic conflicts," he said.
