H.E. Zehra Zümrüt SELÇUK held a bilateral meeting with H.E. Yasumasa NAGASAKA, State Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan, to discuss avenues for advancing cooperation in labour, social security, and health-related policies on the sidelines of the OECD Skills Summit 2026 in İstanbul.

The meeting provided an opportunity to exchange views on shared demographic challenges, mainly ageing populations, and to explore innovative policy responses in areas such as the care economy. Both sides emphasized the importance of forward-looking strategies to ensure inclusiveness and resilience of social protection systems.

H.E. SELÇUK highlighted SESRIC’s mandate and its ongoing efforts in supporting the socio-economic development of OIC countries. In doing so, the Centre considers the diverse levels of development across the OIC region. She also noted SESRIC’s role in fostering cooperation among member countries through collaboration with more advanced economies to support broader development outcomes.

She further expressed the growing need for adaptive policy frameworks that respond to demographic shifts and to changing workforce dynamics. She stressed the importance of enhancing efficiency and accessibility in health and social services. She also mentioned that international cooperation is essential to designing effective solutions to common challenges.

In his remarks, H.E. NAGASAKA referred to Japan’s extensive experience in addressing the implications of a rapidly ageing society and articulated his country’s readiness to share best practices and collaborate on policy innovation, including through leveraging AI in developing responsive models to address the challenges of ageing populations.

The meeting concluded with a shared commitment to advancing bilateral cooperation through concrete initiatives, knowledge exchange, and sustained engagement, contributing to more effective and future-oriented labour and social policy frameworks across OIC countries.