Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 20/11/2017
The 33rd session of the OIC Standing Committee on Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) kicked off today 20 November 2017 in Istanbul, Republic of Turkey, with preparatory meeting of senior officials ahead of the ministerial meeting to be held on 22 November 2017, which will be attended by H.E. President of the Republic of Turkey and chairman of COMCEC, Secretary General of the OIC and ministers concerned in OIC Member States.
In presenting the report of the OIC General Secretariat, Assistant Secretary General for Economic Affairs, Ambassador Hameed Opeloyeru, reviewed the latest steps taken by the General Secretariat and institutions active in the economic field since the COMCEC 32nd session held in Istanbul, Turkey in November 2016, to follow up the implementation of OIC-2025 Programme of Action.
Ambassador Opeloyeru highlighted the activities targeted to achieve the level of OIC intra-trade set at 25% by the year 2025, including the objective of establishing a free trade zone in light of the anticipated implementation of the existing trade preferential system.
The report focuses on the progress recorded in the economic domain and the accomplishments made by the OIC and its institutions active in the economic and commercial fields, namely agriculture, food security and rural development, employment and productivity, intra-trade and investment, tourism development, cooperation in the area of transport, poverty alleviation programmes, infrastructure development and regional integration policies in OIC countries.
The focus of the 33rd session of COMCEC is the development of trans-border transportation corridor projects in OIC Member States, given that the sector is among the main priorities of the OIC’s economic cooperation agenda and because transportation is a major catalyst of economic development and competitiveness. The session will have four ministerial sessions to discuss improving trans-border transport corridors in OIC Member States.
