Themed as "The Role of Development in Achieving National Sovereignty", the conference will be discussing issues such as Islamophobia, the incarceration of Muslims around the globe and mass migration of Muslims due to civil wars.

In his keynote address at Summit, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said, “The Kuala Lumpur Summit 2019 is not to discriminate or isolate any countries but only attempts to come up with proposals and solutions that are acceptable and workable for the Muslim world”.

Dr Mahathir, who is also chairman of the summit, said the objective of this year's event is "not to discuss religion, but the state of affairs in the Muslim world".

The Summit aims to revive Islamic civilisation, deliberate and find new and workable solutions for problems afflicting the Muslim world in order to contribute in the improvement of the state of affairs among Muslims and Muslim nations and to form a global network between Islamic leaders, intellectuals, scholars and thinkers.

Robot Sophia, the social humanoid robot, was present in the Summit and it made a special appearance to welcome delegates at the official launch of the Kuala Lumpur Summit 2019 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) here.

In her short speech, Sophia said “I am impressed by the world leaders together in Malaysia, how this important discussion about the development of Islamic countries and Muslims everywhere. With that, I wish you all a productive KL Summit 2019,”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and hundreds of government officials, businesspeople, representatives of civil societies and experts from different sectors across the Muslim world are participating in the three-day summit in different levels.

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, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his speech during the event.

He went on to say: “Unfortunately, we - Muslim countries - are wasting our energy on internal disputes at a time when artificial intelligence, quantum computers, robotic technologies are discussed”.

“I know that none of us, as leaders who shoulder the responsibility of hundreds of millions of Muslims, are satisfied with this picture", he added.

Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said that the diverse Muslim world must disregard racial, national and sectarian differences in addressing issues that involve the wellbeing and sovereignty of the Muslim world.

“We can look to human rights and justice and be tolerant toward other beliefs, other nations, races”, al-Thani opined.

Emphasizing on safety and stability in his region, the Emir suggested “dialogue to solve the problems but on the basis of equality”.

“Respect everyone without making any difference and deal with people on the basis of rule of law,” he told in the summit.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani praised the nation and government of Malaysia for organizing this summit and creating a valuable model of peaceful, cultural diversity as well as taking new steps for bridging the east and west of the Muslim world.

In opening remarks, Rouhani criticized Washington’s global clout, saying that, “American economic regime, and dollarisation of national and global economies, have provided the United States with the possibility of advancing its hegemony under the threat of sanctions and economic terrorism”.

He also added the crises and challenges that Muslim community are facing today: “The Muslim world is facing emerging challenges at the national and international level which have impeded development and progress. Of them, cultural and identity crises are among the most significant challenges”.

The Summit will discuss some contentious and serious issues pertinent to Muslim world and the rest of world. They include national development and sovereignty; integrity and good governance; culture and identity; justice and freedom; peace, security and defence; trade and investment; as well as technology and Internet governance.