The 35^th Session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC) took place on 25-28 November 2019 in Istanbul, Turkey. High-level representatives from the Member and Observer States of the OIC, relevant OIC institutions, as well as other international organizations attended the session. The SESRIC participated in the Session with a delegation headed by H.E. Mr Nebil DABUR, the Director General of SESRIC.

The Opening Ceremony of the 35^th Session of the COMCEC was held on 27 November under the Chairmanship of H.E. Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN, President of the Republic of Turkey and the Chairman of the COMCEC, who underlined the symbolic meaning of OIC cooperation this year when the 50th anniversary of OIC is being marked.

The high-level representatives of the OIC Member States expressed appreciation for the way in which the COMCEC Coordination Office has exercised its mandate, praised the progress achieved in the implementation of the COMCEC Strategy and reaffirmed their commitment to the OIC cooperation and good-neighbourly relations.

The 35^th Session was preceded by the Senior Officials Meeting, where the senior level delegations deliberated on a number of agenda items related to various issues of enhancing economic and commercial cooperation among the Member States.

During the Senior Officials Meeting, the SESRIC presented its report titled the “OIC Economic Outlook 2019: Mobilizing Financial Resources for Development”, which explores global macroeconomic and financial trends with the focus on the OIC Member States as a group. Further, main findings from the new report of SESRIC titled “Towards the Achievement of Prioritised SDGs in OIC Countries” have been shared with the participants of the Meeting.

The Senior Officials Meeting expressed satisfaction over the SESRIC work and commended the Centre’s and ISESCO’s efforts in the preparation of the OIC-TVET Strategic Roadmap 2020-2025, developed with intention to improve the quality of implementing technical and vocational education and training programs in the Member States.

The 35^th Session of COMCEC endorsed a joint Resolution that reiterated political commitment for the successful implementation of the COMCEC Strategy. The Resolution praised the SESRIC for its work and expressed pleasure for excellent cooperation between the SESRIC and other OIC institutions.

All documents and presentations submitted to the 35^th Session of COMCEC are available in the COMCEC website at http://www.comcec.org/en/35th-ministerial-session-of-the-comcec-istanbul-25-28-november-2019.

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