Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on Islamic countries to increase co-operation.

The Turkish leader made his remarks in an address to an Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) summit, currently underway in Istanbul. On Sunday, Prime Minister Erdogan said he doubted that Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir was responsible for genocide in Darfur, saying in an interview on television, "no Muslim could perpetrate genocide".
 

Despite being indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity, the Sudanese leader was invited to the summit. However, President Beshir turned down the invitation.
 

Afghan President Hamid Karzai called on the delegates to increase trade with his country, saying it would help Afghanistan emerge from the violence raging in the country.