COMCEC concludes 24th session in Istanbul 2 Istanbul

In his speech, the OIC Secretary General underlined that commercial
and economic cooperation of member States is a very important item on
OIC's agenda.


"The recently held Islamic Summit Conference in Dakar endorsed a new
Charter which will herald a new vision for the Organization. The
Summit also adopted several resolutions in the field of economic
affairs, notably the implementation of the Ten Year Programme of
Action, the OIC Dakar Port Sudan Railways project, and debt relief
for poor African countries."


Prof. Ihsanoglu pointed out that this COMCEC session took place on
the eve of the global crisis affecting agriculture, energy and
finance.


The OIC member states are endowed with natural, human and financial
resources that enable them to produce more food than they can
consume. "What is needed is more joint Islamic action to synergize
the resources available for the benefit of the Ummah. The energy
crisis which shook the world recently will be also addressed by
securing affordable energy for all Member States, including
development of alternative energy sources. The financial crisis
experienced nowadays also offers an opportunity for the promotion of
Islamic finance mechanisms."

The Secretary General emphasized that COMCEC is very instrumental in
multilateral trade agreements among member states. The protocol on
the Trade Preferential Scheme among OIC member states TPS-OIC
(PRETAS) has been ratified by additional member states which will
enable the agreement to enter into force.


The OIC institutions are also performing very well in implementing
OIC programmes and projects like the OIC Cotton project and Framework
for cooperation and development in the domain of tourism in the
member states.

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