The third Islamic Solidarity Games (ISG) ended on Tuesday with a reminder about the need to strengthen ties and foster solidarity among Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries.

'The medals are not the main goal, but rather unity in diversity and solidarity among Islamic nations,' South Sumatra Governor Alex Noerdin said during the closing ceremony at the Jakabaring Sports Center in Palembang.

A marching band kicked off the ceremony at 6:30 local time, followed by a parade of athletes split into their respective sports.

After the speech by the governor and another by Youth and Sports Minister Roy Suryo, the Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation (ISSF) flag was lowered to mark the end of the 11-day event, which began on Sept. 22.

ISSF president Prince Nawaf bin Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz handed the flag over to a representative from Azerbaijan, the games' next host in 2017.

Performances by several local bands entertained the audience, and a fireworks show capped off the ceremony.

Some athletes spoke fondly of their experiences in the city, which, along with Jakarta, had previously co-hosted the 2011 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

'Palembang is a nice city. Good people and the games were good too. Overall a good venue. We faced no problems with accommodation, catering and hotels,' said a taekwondo athlete from Senegal, Aboubacar Fall.

'This games were very good. Palembang people are very good too. Thank you, Indonesia,' said a Yemeni wushu athlete, Yousef Ali.

'The ISG events ran smoothly and orderly. I was happy during my stay here. Palembang people are friendly,' said an official from Algeria, Samir Mayana.

Indonesia collected the most gold medals with 36 in the quadrennial multi-sport games attended by more than 3,000 athletes and officials from 44 OIC country members, competing in 13 sports.

The hosts added 35 silver medals and 34 bronze medals to their total hardware count.

Iran leapfrogged to second place in the final standings by amassing 30 gold, 17 silver and 12 bronze medals.

Egypt, which had followed Indonesia closely until the closing day, fell to third place in the medal count. Malaysia was fourth. The two teams each garnered 26 gold medals, but the Mideast country prevailed in the silver medal count, 27 to 19.

Minister Roy Suryo applauded Indonesia's success, saying it boded well for the country's next regional athletic challenge: the SEA Games in Myanmar in December.

'We are grateful that Indonesia was the overall winner at the ISG, which is hopefully a good sign for the upcoming SEA Games,' he said during a late-afternoon media conference ahead of the closing ceremony.

He said that 90 percent of Indonesia's 233 athletes in the games would go to Myanmar to compete. Badminton was the only ISG event in which the host country's top athletes did not compete, due to a scheduling conflict with a major tournament.

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