In a recent study, two IMF economists investigated Islamic banking and its diffusion around the world. It is stated that “[Islamic banks] showed greater resilience during the recent financial crisis as they were not involved in trading ‘toxic assets.’” The main reasons are identified as follows: (1) Islamic banks finance their activities out of deposits rather than from wholesale funding, in contrast to most conventional banks; (2) Shariah law prohibits Islamic banks from dealing in second-hand, interest-bearing mortgages, which were the main cause of the US subprime mortgage crisis; (3) Islamic banks favor investments in sectors that were not hit as hard by the global crisis such as utilities, telecom, healthcare, and high-tech.

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SESRIC has recently initiated the IbnSina Health Capacity Building (IbnSina-HCaB) Programme regarding needs and capacities of the Ministries of Health in the member countries of the OIC. The Centre shall analyse these needs and capacities through the responses of the related questionnaires and will send health experts among these countries to perform the needed training programmes.

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SESRIC actively proceeds in enhancing the effective implementation of the Capacity Building Programme for Central Banks in the OIC Member Countries. SESRIC has recently disseminated the updated version of the related questionnaire and will immediately continue planning/implementing the short-term training programmes as soon as replies are received.

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The OIC International Student Internship Programme (OIC-ISIP) is a special international internship programme developed under the OIC-VET Programme, and aims to enhance the quality of workforce employed in OIC Member Countries and strengthen integrity and convergence of labour markets, and promote competitiveness of OIC economies through increasing knowledge and skills of university students about to enter into the labour market in accordance with national legislation and practices. The pilot application of the OIC-ISIP started in the summer 2010 in collaboration with two NGOs, namely the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (MÜSİAD) and BABIALEM International Student Association, recruiting university students from different OIC Member Countries in companies in Istanbul. From the year 2011 on, the OIC-ISIP programme is intended to operate fully as an internationally recognised internship programme by all OIC Member Countries under the International Business Forum (IBF), which will cater to the basic training needs of the university students pursuing different degrees in OIC universities.

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SESRIC has published new OIC Outlook Reports on the following themes:

1. Agro-Industry in the OIC Member Countries: An Overview Of Potentials
2. Civil Society in OIC Member Countries
3. An Overview of the Trade among OIC Countries
4. Climate Change: Impacts on Agriculture in OIC Member Countries
5. International Migration in the OIC Member Countries
6. Research and Scientific Development in OIC Countries
7. Tobacco Use in OIC Countries: Prospects and Challenges

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A new feature named "Live SMC Reports" has been launched under the Statistics and Databases section of the SESRIC Web Site.

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After SESRIC commenced its e-Government Initiative in the last quarter of 2009, many activities have been conducted to enhance cooperation between OIC Member Countries on improving public sector services through appropriate e-Government application development.

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Within the framework of the Vocational Education and Training Programme for OIC Member Countries (OIC-VET), SESRIC has recently initiated the OIC Occupational Health and Safety Capacity Building Programme (OHSCaB) among the OIC Member Countries. The OHSCaB Programme aims at enhancing the capacity of the occupational health and safety institutions to foster safer work environment and protect members of the public who are impacted by the workplace environment. This could be achieved through the establishment of a strong and active network congregating the occupational health and safety centres, trainers and trainees in OIC Member Countries. In this regard, SESRIC is planning to organise short-term training courses, study visits, workshops, seminars, conferences as well as public awareness activities following the analysis and assessment it will carry with regard to the needs and capacities of the occupational health and safety institutions in the OIC Member Countries.

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The OIC-VET Portal has been launched following the official inauguration of the Vocational Education and Training Programme for the OIC Member Countries (OIC-VET Programme) by H.E. Abdullah Gül, President of Turkey and Chairman of COMCEC, during the COMCEC Economic Summit, held in Istanbul on 9 November 2009, with the presence of the heads of states and governments of the OIC Member Countries.

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OIC-VET Partners Database, a special database sited in the OIC-VET Portal with the aim of providing information on potential partners who are able and keen to effectively participate in the implementation of projects within the various projects of the OIC-VET Programme, has finally been released. The OIC-VET Partners Database constitutes an optimised virtual pool in which all registered OIC-VET Partners will come together with the aim of facilitating the process of matching their capacities and defining their needs in the related areas of activities in order to effectively plan and implement OIC-VET projects.

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