Within the framework of the project titled ” Short Course on Strategies in Enhancing Tourism Workforce in Community-Based Tourism within OIC Member Countries  (2015-MYSTOURI-130)” implemented by Malaysia, trainings with a view to develop capacity of experts in community-based tourism and study visits in this regard were performed. 14 participants in the area of community-based tourism from The Gambia, Senegal, Palestine, Pakistan, Maldives, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei were trained.

Within the framework of the project titled ” Enhancing The Capacity of Craft Producers In OIC Member Countries (2015-GAMTOURI-144)” implemented by the Gambia, trainings with a view to develop craft producers’ professional and operational skills for better service delivery have been started. 20 participants in the craft producing sector from The Gambia, Senegal and Mali will be trained within a training of trainers perspective.

A training program was organized by the COMCEC Coordination Office and the Development Bank of Turkey for the contact persons and coordinators of projects which have been selected for financing under COMCEC Project Funding for 2016 implementation period. The training was held on 29-30 March 2016 at Crowne Plaza Hotel.

The 7th Meeting of the COMCEC Transport and Communications Working Group was held on March 24th, 2016 in Ankara, Turkey with the theme of “Enhancing Road Maintenance in the OIC Member Countries”.

The Meeting was attended by the representatives of 15 Member States, which have notified their focal points for the Transport and Communications Working Group namely, Gabon, The Gambia, Guinea, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Tunisia, Turkey and Uganda. Representatives of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), SESRIC, International Road Federation (IRF), ECORYS and COMCEC Coordination Office have also attended the Meeting.

The Representatives of the Member States have shared their experiences, achievements and challenges in the field of road maintenance in their respective countries. Additionally, the issue of policies that can be implemented to improve the quality of services provided in this field was discussed. The Meeting has considered the Studies “Enhancing Road Maintenance in the OIC Member Countries” and the “COMCEC Transport Outlook 2015” prepared by the COMCEC Coordination Office.

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

 

The 6th Meeting of the COMCEC Financial Cooperation Working Group was held on 17-18 March 2016 in Ankara, Turkey with the theme of “Developing Islamic Finance Strategies in the OIC Member Countries”.

The Meeting was attended by the representatives of 28 Member States namely, Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Cote D’ivoire, Gabon, Gambia, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Pakistan, Palestine, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Turkey, Uganda and Uzbekistan. Representatives of COMCEC Coordination Office, SESRIC, Islamic Development Bank, Secretariat of the OIC Member States’ Stock Exchanges Forum, Secretariat of the COMCEC Capital Markets Regulators Forum, World Bank Global Islamic Finance Development Center, Participation Banks Association of Turkey and some other guests have also attended the Meeting.

The Representatives of the Member States have shared their experiences, achievements and challenges on developing Islamic Finance Strategies in their respective countries. Furthermore, the Meeting deliberated on the preparations regarding the Exchange of Views Session of the 32nd COMCEC Ministerial Meeting and come up with some policy recommendations to be submitted to the 32nd COMCEC Session. The Meeting has considered the Studies “Developing Islamic Finance Strategies in the OIC Member Countries” commissioned by the COMCEC Coordination Office and the “Financial Outlook of the OIC Member Countries 2015” prepared by the COMCEC Coordination Office.

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

The Seventh Meeting of the COMCEC Agriculture Working Group was held on March 3rd, 2016 in Crowne Plaza Hotel Ankara, Turkey with the theme of “Reducing On-Farm Food Losses in the OIC Member Countries”

The Meeting was attended by the representatives of 15 Member States, which have notified their focal points for the Agriculture Working Group namely, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Gabon, Iran, Jordan, Malaysia, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sudan, Uzbekistan, Tunisia and Turkey. Representatives of COMCEC Coordination Office, Islamic Development Bank (IDB), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), SESRIC and TAT Plant have also attended the Meeting.

The Representatives of the Member States have shared their experiences and main causes of on-farm losses during the Meeting. Furthermore, the participants have made fruitful deliberations on this important topic with a view to provide policy advises for reducing on-farm losses, thus increasing agricultural productivity, in the OIC Member Countries.

The Meeting has considered the Studies titled “Reducing On-Farm Food Losses in the OIC Member Countries” commissioned by the COMCEC Coordination Office and the “COMCEC Agriculture Outlook 2015” prepared by the COMCEC Coordination Office.

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

The Seventh Meeting of the COMCEC Trade Working Group was held on February 25th, 2016 in Crowne Plaza Hotel Ankara, Turkey with the theme of “Strengthening the Compliance of the OIC Member States to International Standards”.

The Meeting was attended by the representatives of 20 Member States, which have notified their focal points for the Trade Working Group namely, Algeria, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Mali, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sudan, Uzbekistan and Turkey. Representatives of COMCEC Coordination Office, International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (IDB/ITFC), UNIDO and The Standards and Metrology Institute for the Islamic Countries (SMIIC) have also attended the Meeting.

The Representatives of the Member States have shared their experiences, achievements and challenges in the Meeting. Moreover extensive deliberations were made on the theme with a view to establish policy advises for strengthening the compliance of the OIC Member States to international standards.

The Meeting has considered the Studies namely “Strengthening the Compliance of the OIC Member States to International Standards” commissioned by the COMCEC Coordination Office (CCO) and the “COMCEC Trade Outlook 2015” prepared by the CCO.

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

 

The 7th Meeting of the COMCEC Poverty Alleviation Working Group was held on February 11th, 2016 in Ankara, Turkey with the theme of “Accessibility of Vulnerable Groups to Social Protection Programmes in the OIC Member Countries.”

The Meeting was attended by the representatives of 15 Member States, which have notified their focal points for the Poverty Alleviation Working Group namely, Afghanistan, Albania, Chad, Gabon, Guinea, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Niger, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Turkey. Representatives of COMCEC Coordination Office, IDB, SESRIC, UNESCAP and Turkish Red Crescent Society (KIZILAY) have also attended the Meeting.

The Representatives of the Member States have shared their experiences, achievements and challenges in accessibility of social protection programmes for vulnerable groups in their respective countries. The Meeting has considered the Studies “Accessibility of Vulnerable Groups to Social Protection Programmes in the OIC Member Countries” commissioned by the COMCEC Coordination Office and the “COMCEC Poverty Outlook 2015” prepared by the COMCEC Coordination Office.

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

The 7th Meeting of the COMCEC Tourism Working Group was held on February 4th, 2016 in Ankara, Turkey with the theme of “Muslim Friendly Tourism: Understanding the Demand and Supply Sides in the OIC Member Countries.”

The Meeting was attended by the representatives of 14 Member States, which have notified their focal points for the Tourism Working Group namely, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Gambia, Indonesia, Iraq, Kyrgyz Republic, Malaysia, Mali, Mozambique, Palestine, Senegal, Sudan, Tunisia and Turkey. Representatives of COMCEC Coordination Office, SESRIC, SMIIC, Crescentrating, Halal Trip and Halal Voyage have also attended the Meeting.

The Representatives of the Member States have shared their experiences, achievements and challenges in developing muslim friendly tourism in their respective countries. The Meeting has considered the Studies “Muslim Friendly Tourism: Understanding the Demand and Supply Sides in the OIC Member Countries” commissioned by the COMCEC Coordination Office and the “COMCEC Tourism Outlook 2015” prepared by the COMCEC Coordination Office.

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