H.E. Zehra Zümrüt SELÇUK held a bilateral meeting with the newly appointed Secretary-General of the Developing-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation (D-8), H.E. Ambassador Sohail MAHMOOD, during which she conveyed her best wishes for success in his new role. Amb. MAHMOOD assumed office as Secretary-General of the D-8 Secretariat on 1 January 2026.

During the meeting, H.E. SELÇUK reaffirmed SESRIC’s readiness to continue and further strengthen the longstanding and productive cooperation between the two institutions. She underlined SESRIC’s efforts to supporting socio-economic development across OIC countries through its mandate areas of statistics, research and training and technical cooperation.

In turn, Amb. MAHMOOD expressed his appreciation for the visit and highlighted his interest in working closely with SESRIC to advance shared objectives. He emphasised that the D-8 places particular importance on enhancing cooperation with relevant institutions of the OIC system, especially in areas aligned with SESRIC’s mandate, which are critical for promoting evidence-based policymaking.

Both parties also discussed the possibility of signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), as well as other joint research projects, to further strengthen the partnership between the two institutions.

The meeting concluded with a shared commitment to deepening institutional ties and advancing mutually beneficial cooperation in support of sustainable development goals within the OIC framework.

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