SESRIC and the Small and Medium Business Development Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (KOBİA) will jointly organise the Inaugural Meeting of the OIC Small and Medium Enterprises Network (OIC-SMENET) on 7 October 2025, on the margins of the Second Azerbaijan Halal Business (AZHAB) Forum, in Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan. The meeting will be organised in line with the OIC Programme of Action, the relevant resolution of the 38th COMCEC Ministerial Session, and the decision of the 39^th COMCEC Follow-Up Meeting on developing a well-designed SME Programme.

The Inaugural Meeting aims to officially launch the OIC-SMENET, a dedicated platform to foster structured high-level cooperation, mutual learning, and capacity building among the relevant Ministries and national SME development authorities of the OIC countries. It will also bring together representatives from both public and private sectors, including public-private partnerships.

The Second Azerbaijan Halal Business (AZHAB) Forum, which will host the OIC-SMENET Inaugural Meeting, is scheduled to take place on 7-8 October 2025 in Baku, under the theme “Halal Industry as a Source of Resilience in the Rapidly Changing World”.

The Forum invites contributions to its Call for Papers, welcoming submissions from researchers, academics, and professionals on topics such as Islamic finance, Halal business management, SMEs’ green transition, women’s role in the Halal industry, and Halal tourism in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Selected papers will be published in the AZHAB Forum 2025 Journal, and the 10 shortlisted authors will be invited to speak at the Forum.

For more information on the Call for Papers, please refer to: Call for Papers for the Second Edition of Azerbaijan Halal Business (AZHAB) Forum.