The 6th and Final Meeting of the OIC Task Force on SMEs was held at the Assumption University of Thailand, Bangkok on August 15-17, 2008. The Meeting was organized by the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) in collaboration with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Thai Islamic Trade and Industrial Association (TITIA) and Assumption University of Thailand (AU). Dr. Savaş Alpay, Director General, represented the Centre thereat and participated in the deliberation sessions in which the main themes of the meeting were discussed.

The meeting was attended by about 100 participants including experts from national SMEs authorities, national chambers of commerce and industries and other public and private sector institutions of the 13 OIC member countries: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran, State of Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Pakistan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, UAE; in addition to participants from the host country, Kingdom of Thailand, which is an observer state of the OIC and one non-member country of the OIC, namely, Philippines.

In addition to the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), three subsidiary organs of the OIC: the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), the Islamic University of Technology (IUT) and the Islamic Centre for Trade Development (ICDT) were also represented at the meeting together with the Islamic Chamber Research and Information Centre (ICRIC).

The Special Unit for South – South Cooperation of the United Nations Development Programme (SUSSC/UNDP), New York, was also represented together with the South – South Global Assets and Technology Exchanges System (SS-GATES) Project. Two specialized agencies of the United Nations: United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) were also represented at the meeting.

A total of 36 thematic and country papers were presented at the meeting. The meeting held the following four working sessions and four exchange – of – views sessions on:

• (i) The Role of SMEs Institutions
• (ii) The Role of International Agencies and OIC Institutions
• (iii) The Role of SMEs Financing Institutions
• (iv) The Role of Incubation Centers and the Importance of Linkages with Educational Institutions.

For more information and details on the Conclusions and Recommendations of the 6th and Final Meeting of the OIC Task Force on SMEs visit the following web site:

http://www.comcec.org/EN/belge/24comcecen/%c4%b1cc%c4%b1/Report-OIC-TF.doc

The meeting concluded with a closing session at which it adopted its report and a consolidation of the main recommendations of its six sessions. Based on these recommendations, the Meeting adopted the Strategic Plan for the Promotion and Development of SMEs Sector in OIC Member Countries. This document was submitted to the 24th Session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the OIC (COMCEC), held in Istanbul, Turkey on October 20-24, 2008.