ISTANBUL: The President of the Republic of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inaugurated the 39th Session of the OIC Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) in Istanbul on Monday. The OIC Secretary-General and Member States’ concerned ministers attended the ceremony.
In his Statement, President Tayyip Erdogan highlighted the grave situation in Gaza Strip and the rising trend of Islamophobia and stressed the need for all OIC Member States to have a unified position to resolve current challenges facing the Muslim Ummah. He also underscored the importance of implementing the Trade Preferential System among OIC Member States, supporting the OIC Arbitration Centre, and developing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and halal industries towards promoting sustainable socio-economic growth in OIC Member States.
Speaking at the Opening Ceremony of the 39th Session of COMCEC, Hissein Brahim Taha, the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), acknowledged the continued support of President Erdogan, the Chairman of COMCEC, towards the realization of several economic programs and projects of the OIC.
OIC Chief Calls for End to Israel’s Criminal Aggression in Gaza
Referring to the tragic massacres taking in Gaza Strip and Palestine generally, the OIC chief called upon the international community to urgently intervene to put an end to Israel’s criminal aggression and murder of innocent Palestinians. While highlighting the activities of OIC and its institutions in the economic domain during the last one year, the Hissein Brahim Taha emphasized the need to further strengthen intra-OIC cooperation in the vital sectors of the economy, particularly the food and agriculture sector, to build more resilient food systems, share knowledge and best practices in order to help develop domestic production capacities in OIC Member States. Accordingly, he called for greater cooperation, harmonization, and synergizing of efforts toward addressing the developmental challenges of OIC Member States.
Ministers also addressed the Opening Ceremony in charge of trade from Qatar, Senegal, and Kazakstan in their capacities as representatives of Arab, African, and Asian groups.
Ministers are attending the 39th Session of COMCEC in charge of trade and economy of the OIC Member States as well as OIC institutions and international organizations. The Session will review the status of implementation of various projects under the COMCEC in the areas of trade and investment, agriculture, tourism and financial development, Private Sector, and poverty alleviation, among others. The theme of the 39th COMCEC Sessions is “Improving E-Commerce Capacities of the OIC Member Countries”.
COMCEC is an OIC Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation meeting annually to review OIC activities in the economic and trade development domains.
