The 24th Session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (COMCEC) was held in Istanbul, Republic of Turkey, on 20-24 October 2008.

The Agenda of the 24th Session of the COMCEC, which includes issues such as world economic developments in conjunction with OIC Member Countries, trade and investment cooperation issues, poverty alleviation and economic assistance to some OIC Member Countries, was discussed at the preparatory meeting of the senior officials on 20-22 October.

The opening of the Ministerial Session took place on 23rd October under the chairmanship of H.E. Abdullah GÜL, president of the Republic of Turkey and Chairman of the COMCEC.

During the ministerial exchange-of-views session, which took place in the afternoon of 23 October, the ministers of economy and trade considered the issue of improving investment climate in the member countries. In this session, the heads of delegations had the opportunity to share their views and experiences on the said theme. The ministers also had the opportunity to conduct bilateral talks on the subject matter.

The following events were also organised on the sidelines of the 24th Session of the COMCEC: (1) 12th International Business Forum of MUSIAD (Independent Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association of Turkey); (2) MUSIAD 12th International Trade Fair; and (3) Islamic Countries Youth Entrepreneurs Network (ICYEN) Meeting. These events were organised in collaboration with COMCEC Coordination Office with a view to reach a better cooperative spirit among public and private sectors. In these events, thousands of businessmen from member countries came together to exchange ideas and conduct business.

The Centre participated in the 24th Session of the COMCEC and submitted three background reports on the themes of some main agenda items of the Session.

For more information, please visit the COMCEC website at: http://www.comcec.org