The Fourth Meeting of the COMCEC Trade Working Group was held on October 23rd, 2014 in Crowne Plaza Hotel Ankara, Turkey with the theme of “Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) and Trade Liberalisation Efforts in the OIC Member States with a Special Emphasis on the TPS-OIC”.

The Meeting was attended by the representatives of 18 Member States, which have notified their focal points for the Trade Working Group namely, Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda and Yemen. Representatives of COMCEC Coordination Office, Islamic Centre for Development of Trade (ICDT), Islamic Development Bank Group (IDB/ITFC), Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), World Customs Organization (WCO) and Chamber of Commerce of Indonesia (KADIN) have also attended the Meeting.

The Representatives of the Member States have shared their experiences, achievements and challenges in the area of trade liberalization. Moreover extensive deliberations were made on the Trade Preferential System among the Member States of the OIC (TPS-OIC) with a view to establish policy advices for rationalization of the System.

The Meeting has considered the Studies namely “Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) and Trade Liberalisation Efforts in the OIC Member States with a Special Emphasis on the TPS-OIC” commissioned by the COMCEC Coordination Office (CCO) and the “COMCEC Trade Outlook 2014-Revised Edition” prepared by the CCO.

For further information on the Meeting, follow the links below:

The 3rd Meeting of the COMCEC Financial Cooperation Working Group was held on October 16th, 2014 in Ankara, Turkey with the theme of “Risk Management in Islamic Financial Instruments.”

The Meeting was attended by the representatives of 18 Member States, which have notified their focal points for the Financial Cooperation Working Group namely, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey and Uganda. Representatives of COMCEC Coordination Office, Islamic Development Bank Group (IDB), SESRIC, Secretariat of the OIC Member States’ Stock Exchanges Forum, Secretariat of the COMCEC Capital Markets Regulators Forum, Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), World Bank Global Islamic Finance Development Center and Participation Banks Association of Turkey have also attended the Meeting.

The Representatives of the Member States have deliberated on risk management in Islamic financial instruments, identified challenges faced by the Member Countries, and provided policy recommendations to enhance the cooperation in this field. The Meeting has considered the Studies namely “Risk Management in Islamic Financial Instruments” and “Financial Outlook of the OIC Member Countries 2014”.

For further information regarding the Meeting, follow the links below:

“Risk Management in Islamic Financial Instruments” “Financial Outlook of the OIC Member Countries 2014”