Egypt described comments made by Iyad Bin Amin Madani, the secretary-general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) about President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi as “regrettable,” and a "grave transgression,” a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday.

The Ministry added that it plans to file a complaint with the OIC to protest Madani’s behaviour.

During comments last week at an OIC conference hosted by Tunisia, the OIC secretary general mistakenly read out Tunisian President Essebsi’s name as El-Sisi.

In an attempt to correct his mistake, Madani made a joke telling Tunisia’s Essebsi “This is a terrible mistake, I’m sure that your fridge has more than water [unlike El-Sisi’s] Mr. President.”

"Such comments are not consistent with the responsibilities and duties of the post of the [OIC] secretary-general, and substantially affect the scope of his work and his ability to carry out his duties," Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said in a statement Saturday afternoon.

The incident has lead Egypt to reconsider its relationship with the Secretariat of the Organization and its Secretary General, Shoukry added.

A few days earlier, at a youth conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, the Egyptian President told the audience “[I’m] one of you, I swear, for ten years, my fridge only had water and no one heard my voice and I’m not from a rich family.”

The OIC released a statement on Friday in which Madani apologised for his comments, which he said were “humour and didn’t intend to offend, in any way, the Egyptian leadership represented by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.”

The OIC’s statement also added that Madani respects El-Sisi whom he has met once before.

The foreign ministry’s statement, which was released after the OIC’s statement, said “Egypt is aware of the secretary-general’s apology, and we will follow up with the organisation to identify the action that should be taken to correct this issue.”

Madani, 70, is a Saudi Arabian diplomat who served as the country's information minister, among other official posts, before his stint on the Saudi-based OIC.

The OIC, which was established in September 1969, comes in second place after the United Nations (UN) as the second largest inter-governmental organization, with 57 state members spread over four continents.

It is composed of three main bodies: The Islamic Summit, Council of Foreign Ministers, and the General Secretariat.

According to their website, the OIC was established as a ‘voice of the Muslim world and ensuring to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the world’.