Pope Francis accepted outgoing Secretary General of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu on Friday in Vatican, in what seems a rare meeting with a high-level official from the OIC.
OIC Secretary General İhsanoğlu paid a visit to the leader of the Roman Catholic Church before his departure from the office, seeking ways to boost cooperation between two world at a turbulent time.
Speaking to reporters following the meeting in Rome on Friday, İhsanoğlu said his visit is the first of its kind and aims to deepen cooperation between the Catholic Church and the OIC for contribution to reducing tension in international politics.
Stressing that Pope Francis has sent positive signals and messages about Islam since he became pope, İhsanoğlu said he conveyed a strong impression from the meeting to deepen dialogue between Christian World and Muslim World.
“Pope Francis spoke about the need to improve dialogue during the meeting. Deepening dialogue is not only their desire but also a necessity, Pope told me,” İhsanoğlu said about his converstion with the pope.