The Second Islamic Conference of Ministers of Environment was held in Jeddah, on 13-15 December 2006. Dr. Savas Alpay, Director General, represented the Centre thereat.

SESRTCIC Co-organises a Workshop on Women Entrepreneurship 

The Workshop on “Promoting Women’s Entrepreneurship in The MENA Region” was held in Istanbul, Turkey, on 11-12 December 2006. The Workshop was organised by the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs and Local Development (CFE) in partnership with the SESRTCIC. Dr. Savaş Alpay, Director General, Mr. Yakup Karaca, senior researcher and Ms. Sevgi Reçberoğlu, researcher, represented the Centre thereat. 

The First Meeting of the Second Round of Trade Negotiations for Establishing the Trade Preferential System among the OIC Countries (TPS-OIC) was held on 24-26 November 2006 in Istanbul on the sidelines of the Twenty-second Session of the COMCEC. The Meeting was chaired by H.E. Kursat Tuzmen, Minister of State of the Republic of Turkey, and attended by the representatives of 17 member countries of the Trade Negotiating Committee (TNC) and 10 other OIC member countries. Representatives of the OIC General Secretariat and the following institutions also attended the Meeting: COMCEC Coordination Office, ICDT, IDB, SESRTCIC, GCC, ECO and WAEMU. Dr. Savas Alpay, Director General, and Mr. Ilhan Ugurel, Adviser, represented the Centre thereat.

The Twenty-second Session of the COMCEC convened in Istanbul on 21-24 November 2006 with the participation of delegates from 43 member countries, the COMCEC Coordination Office, the OIC General Secretariat, and its subsidiary, specialized and affiliated organs, namely, the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRTCIC), Islamic Centre for Development of Trade (ICDT), Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA), Islamic University of Technology (IUT), Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Organisation of Islamic Shipowners Association (OISA) and Association of National Development Finance Institutions (ADFIMI). The Session was also attended by the representatives of some international institutions such as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO), Federation of Consultants from Islamic Countries (FCIC), Federation of Contractors from Islamic Countries (FOCIC), United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Developing Eight (D-8), and West Africa Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). The Centre was represented thereat by Dr. Savas Alpay, Director General, Mr. Ilhan Ugurel, Adviser, Dr. Mehmet Barca, Adviser, Mr. Nabil Dabour, Senior Researcher, and Mr. Yakup Karaca, Senior Researcher.

The Seventh Session of the Statistical Committee of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA) was held in Beirut on 7-9 November 2006. Representatives from 11 of the 13 UN-ESCWA member countries (Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen), governmental and non-governmental organisations, and UN organisations and agencies attended the Session. Dr. Savas Alpay, Director General, was invited to represent the Centre thereat.

The Twenty-seventh Session of the Finance Control Organ of the OIC (FCO) convened in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on 30 September-11 October 2006 to audit the final accounts of the General Secretariat of the OIC and its subsidiary organs, namely SESRTCIC, ICDT, IUT and IRCICA for the financial year 2005/2006 ending on 30 June 2006.

The Third Islamic Conference of Ministers of Higher Education and Scientific Research was held in Kuwait City, State of Kuwait, on 19-21 November 2006. Dr. Savas Alpay, Director General represented the Centre thereat.

The SESRTCIC has been selected as the newest member of the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA), at its eighth session, held in Montreal, Canada, on 4-5 September, 2006. Dr. Savas Alpay, Director General, represented the Centre thereat.

The Thirty-third Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (Session of Harmony of Rights, Freedom and Justice) convened in Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan, on 19-21 June 2006.