ISTANBUL, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Leaders from Islamic states under the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) started the economy summit with a focus on economic and commercial cooperation here on Monday.

    The one-day meeting, which is chaired by Turkish President Abdullah Gul, is being held at Istanbul's Four Seasons Hotel to mark the 25th anniversary of the committee.

    Addressing the summit, the Turkish president said that he conveys to the world the peaceful message inherent in the Islamic civilization.

    He claimed that the OIC's Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation is a landmark cooperation platform for all Islamic countries.

    Other heads of state and government at the summit include Kyrgyzstan President Murmanbek Bakiev, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Syrian President Bashar al-Asad, Guinea-Bissau President Raimundo Bacai Sanha, and Jordanian Prime Minister Nader al-Dahabi.

    As a host, President Gul said, the committee has successfully carried out its activities for the past 25 years and will maintain and further improve this attribute in the term ahead.

    He said that the organization had taken the lead in launching many projects to develop the potential of the member countries, adding: "Establishment of the trade preferential system, trade financing, promotion of cooperation among private sector institutions and capacity building activities are some of these projects."

    At present, he said, the Islamic countries are taking concerted action in dealing with climate change, food and financial crisis.

    The Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation was established during the Third Islamic Summit Conference held in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, in 1981. It became operational at the Fourth Islamic Summit in 1984 with the election of the president of Turkey as its chairman.

    The committee aims at developing economic and commercial cooperation among the member states. It has 57 member states and three observer members.