Egypt said on Monday it received a memo from the general secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on the resignation of OIC chief Iyad Madani and that Saudi Arabia nominated its former social affairs minister Yousuf bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen to replace him.

In a press release, the Egyptian foreign minister said Cairo backs the Saudi nominee in appreciation for the role of Saudi Arabia to boost activities and goals of the OIC.

The statement also highly praised the role of King Salman bin Abdel Aziz to cement the role of the OIC to boost solidarity among the Islamic states and to protect and maintain the interests of these countries and their peoples in the face of different challenges.

Egypt looks forward to continuing close cooperation with the OIC and its coming secretary general in line with Cairo's stable policy to pay full attention to the pan-Islamic body, said the statement.

Earlier today, OIC chief Madani resigned for "health reasons", according to the Islamic International News Agency (IINA) which quoted an official source as saying that Riyadh nominated Al-Othaimeen to succeed Madani.

ٍSource: MENA