In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised the training course on “Labour Cost” at the National Directorate of Statistics and Informatics (INSTAT) of Mali on 28-30 December 2015. The course was conducted by Mr. Koffi Edmond Yao, Head of Centralization of Social Statistics Department at National Institute of Statistics of Cote d’Ivoire, with the participation of relevant officials of the INSTAT of Mali.

Carried out under the support of COMCEC PCM Programme and coordinated by SESRIC, the project titled “Improving Statistical Capacities of OIC Member Countries in Poverty Statistics” aims at building statistical capacity in poverty statistics and overall contributing to the National Statistical Systems of the member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) through capacity building programs including short-term trainings.

SESRIC organised a training course on “Cotton Biotechnology: Advance Crop Management Technologies” at Cotton Development Board of Bangladesh on 22-24 December 2015, within the framework of the OIC Cotton Training Programme (OIC-CTP). The course was conducted by Ms. Özlem Yıldırancan, Expert at Nazilli Cotton Research Institute with participation of Cotton Development Board of Bangladesh and relevant institutions. Below topics were covered in the three day course:

The 9^th Session of Islamic Conference of Tourism Ministers (ICTM) was held on 21-23 December 2015 in Niamey, Niger. The Ministers of Tourism of OIC Member Countries and all OIC Institutions pursuant to the resolution of the 8th Session of ICTM attended the meeting.

SESRIC organised a five day Water Capacity Building training course in collaboration with the General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works (DSI), Turkey and Turkish Water Institute (SUEN) on 21-25 December 2015 in Istanbul, Turkey. The course was attended by four participants each from the Department of Environment (DoE), Bangladesh and the National Water And Electricity Co.Ltd (NAWEC), Gambia.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organized the training course on ‘Professional Skills for Official Statisticians: Effective Written Communication Techniques’ at the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Statistics on 21-22 December 2015, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The course was conducted by Mr. Nijat Akhmedov, Expert at DemirBank of Azerbaijan with participation of relevant officials.

SESRIC organised a training course on “Rural Development Projects Impact Assessment” on 21-23 December 2015 in Islamabad, Pakistan, in collaboration with the NGO World Foundation. The course was designed for NGOs working in development areas in Islamabad with a view to building their capacity in the field of project impact analysis. The course was facilitated by Mr. Mozharul Islam, an expert on impact analysis and a Ph.D. researcher at Hacettepe University, Turkey, with the participation of officials from NGOs, as well as researchers.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the training course on ‘Module 2: Population and Housing Censuses; Registers of Population; Dwellings and Buildings’ at the Directorate of Statistics under the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation of Somalia (STATSOM) on 20-25 December 2015, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The course was conducted by Mr. Abdellaziz Ben Hadj Abdullatif, Expert at African Development Bank (ADB) with participation of relevant officials.

To encourage more young statisticians to take an active interest in official statistics, the International Association for Official Statistics (IAOS) – an association under the International Statistical Institute (ISI) – has announced its next annual competition for the best paper in the field of official statistics written by a young statistician. In addition to the monetary prizes, the first place winner will receive travel funds to present the paper at one of the sessions of the next IAOS Conference to be held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on 6-8 December 2016.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organized the training course on ‘Classifications’ at Kuwait Central Statistical Bureau (CSB) on 15-17 December 2015, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The course was conducted by Mrs. Asmaa Abdelrasoul Mohamed, Expert at Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAMPAS) of Egypt with participation of relevant officials of CSB.

The Director General of SESRIC, Amb. Musa Kulaklikaya, paid a courtesy visit to the Executive Director of UN-Habitat, Dr. Joan Clos on 15 December 2015 in Nairobi, Kenya. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between SESRIC and UN-Habitat in 2014 to enhance cooperation in the area of research and capacity building in sustainable urban development.

SESRIC, in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Social Security of the Republic of Turkey organised a technical training on “Occupational Hygiene and Safety” in Ankara, Turkey on 14-18 December 2015.

TURKSAT in collaboration with Independent Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (MUSIAD) organized the Satellite, Space and Technology Days on 11-12 December 2015 in Istanbul, Republic of Turkey. SESRIC conducted several sessions on “Sharing experiences on e-government applications” jointly with TURKSAT and the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality in the sidelines of this Conference. Senior officials from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Jordan and Palestine participated in these sessions.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the training course on “Seed Development: Biotechnology Studies” at the Ministry of Agriculture, Republic of Azerbaijan on 9-10 December 2015, within the framework of the OIC Agriculture Capacity Building Programme (OIC-AgriCaB). The course was conducted by Dr. Cuma KARAOĞLU and Ms. Hülya Özcan expert at Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, Republic of Turkey with the participation of experts from Ministry of Agriculture and relevant Agricultural Institutions, Republic of Azerbaijan.

H.E. Amb. Musa Kulaklıkaya, Director General of SESRIC, addressed the OIC Forum on Global Unified Halal Food Standards which was held at OIC General Secretariat, Jeddah on 9-10 December 2015. In his address H.E. Amb. Kulaklikaya highlighted the fact that with a strong consumer base of over 1.7 billion Muslims and increasing consumption of Halal products by the general public all over the world, the Halal food market represents the appearance of a new economic paradigm that is on the tipping point of becoming a global movement. In fact, many OIC Member Countries especially in South East Asia have already recognized that Halal has the potential to be a real engine of growth for their local economies and all began a variety of government-led initiatives to use Halal as an effective engine of growth for their economies, he added. Furthermore, he also briefed the participants about SESRIC’s continued involvement in various activities which are closely related to the development of unified Halal standards and procedures and promotion of Halal food industry in OIC countries and elsewhere. He concluded his address by expressing readiness of SESRIC to strengthen cooperation with all stakeholders to introduce innovative approaches to develop and implement unified Halal food standards and procedures in OIC Member Countries.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the training course on ‘Professional Skills for Official Statisticians: Effective Written Communication Techniques’ at the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) of Republic of Sudan on 7-9 December 2015, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The course was conducted by Mrs. Hagar Ali, Expert at Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAMPAS) of Egypt with participation of relevant officials of CBS.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the training course on “Water Management: Using Modern Irrigation Facilities” at the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on 6-7 December 2015, within the framework of the OIC Agriculture Capacity Building Programme (OIC-AgriCaB). The course was conducted by Mr. Ali Çağlar ÇELİKCAN, Ms. Aylin ÇELİK and Mr. Korkut Gokhan Kurtar expert at Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, Republic of Turkey with the participation of experts from Ministry of Agriculture and relevant Agricultural Institutions, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Below topics were covered in the two day course:

SESRIC and UNFPA jointly organized the First Expert Meeting of the OIC Network on Population and Reproductive, Maternal, New-born and Child Health (OIC RMNCH Network) which took place at SESRIC Headquarter in Ankara, Turkey, on 2-4 December 2015.

In line with the decision of the Fourth Islamic Conference of Health Ministers held in Jakarta, Indonesia in October 2013, SESRIC and UNFPA Arab States Regional Office launched the First Expert Meeting of the OIC Network on Population and Reproductive, Maternal, New-born and Child Health which took place at SESRIC Headquarters in Ankara, Turkey, on 2-4 December 2015. The meeting was participated by a group of interdisciplinary experts in this area from OIC region who engage in collective efforts to share information and knowledge in an endeavour to improve OIC RMNCH Net.

The Regional Workshop on ‘Tourism Satellite Accounts (TSA)’ was organised by SESRIC in collaboration with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and hosted by the Committee on Statistics of the Ministry of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan on 30 November-3 December 2015 in Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan.

The Workshop on ‘Multidimensional Poverty Measurement (MPM)’ was organised by SESRIC in collaboration with the OIC Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC), Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD) on 30 November – 6 December 2015 in Dakar, Republic of Senegal.

SESRIC organised a training course on "Computerization of Civil Registration Systems" in collaboration with the National Organization for Civil Registration (NOCR), Iran at the venue of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Gambia.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised the training course on “Labour Statistics” at the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Ministry of Finance and Treasury of Maldives on 24-26 November 2015. The course was conducted by Mr. Kabir Uddin Ahmed, Joint Director, Industry and Labour Wing of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), with the participation of 20 officials of the NBS of Maldives.

The Centre in collaboration with the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Azerbaijan and Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, Bangladesh organised a training course on ‘‘Early Warning Systems (Multi-Hazard)’’ on 24-25 November 2015 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Mr. Md. Ruhul Amin, Deputy Director, Cyclone Preparedness Programme (CPP), Chittagong, Bangladesh provided the two day course covering below topics which was attended by the employees from the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Azerbaijan and participants from other relevant institutions:

SESRIC in collaboration with the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training (MINEFOP) Republic of Cameroon, organised a three day training course on ‘‘Water Resources Management’’ within the framework of the Water Resources Management Capacity Building Programme (Water-CaB) in Yaoundé, Cameroon. The training course was provided by Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir President of High Atlas Foundation, Kingdom of Morocco, with the participation of agricultural experts and staffs from different relevant institutions of Cameroon. Below topics were covered in the three day course:

SESRIC organised a two-day workshop on ‘‘Exploring Tourism Potential of Al-Quds Al-Sherif City” jointly by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of State of Palestine in Istanbul, Turkey on 24-25 November 2015.

SESRIC has launched the OIC Economic Outlook 2015 report during the 31st Session of the COMCEC that was held in Istanbul during 23-26 November 2015. The main highlights of the report were presented by H.E. Amb. Musa Kulaklıkaya, Director General of SESRIC, during the meeting, where the Report and its special theme on investments have stimulated further discussions.

SESRIC and the Turkish Green Crescent Society have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to initiate and facilitate collaboration between both organisations in matters of common interest and to establish necessary modalities for their implementation. The MoU was signed on 20 November 2015 by H.E. Amb. Musa Kulaklıkaya, Director General of SESRIC, and Prof. Dr. Mücahit Öztürk, Director General of the Turkish Green Crescent Society.

SESRIC and the Centre For Islamic Banking, Finance And Management (CIBFM) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to initiate and facilitate collaboration and cooperation between both institutions in matters of common interest and to establish necessary modalities for their implementation. The MoU was signed on 19 November 2015 by H.E. Amb. Musa Kulaklıkaya, Director General of SESRIC, and Mrs. Suriati Mohamad Taib, CEO of CIBFM.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the training course on ‘Informal Sector Statistics’ at the Department of Statistics (DoS) of Malaysia on 18-20 November 2015, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The course was conducted by Mr. Toto Silitonga, Expert at BPS Provincial Office of South East Sulawesi with participation of relevant officials of DoS.

During the 5^th Islamic Conference of Health Ministers held in Istanbul, Turkey on 17-19 November 2015, SESRIC facilitated a panel discussion on “NGOs Involvement in the Improvement of Health Services in OIC Member States”.

The 5^th Islamic Conference of Health Ministers (ICHM) was held on 17-19 November 2015 in Istanbul, Turkey, under the theme “Building Bridges for a Healthier Ummah’. The Conference was attended by the Ministers of Health and high-level representatives from OIC Member States, various OIC institutions and international organizations and entities.

In parallel with the 5^th Islamic Conference of Health Ministers (ICHM), SESRIC organised an Expert Meeting on “Pharmaceuticals, Vaccines and Medical Devices” on 17-18 November 2015 in Istanbul, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health of Turkey.

H.E. Amb. Musa Kulaklıkaya, Director General of SESRIC, addressed the 5th Islamic Conference of Health Ministers, which was held in Istanbul, Turkey on 17-19 November. During his address, H.E. Amb. Kulaklikaya briefed the august Conference about the major findings of the OIC Health Report 2015 and officially launched the report.

The Centre, in collaboration with World Bank Global Islamic Finance Development Center (GIFDC) and Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) organized a training workshop on “Islamic Banking and Liquidity Management” in İstanbul, Turkey during 16-17 November 2015. The training workshop participated by the middle to senior level representatives from central banks and other regulatory institutions who are interested in Islamic banking, Islamic financial markets and instruments and Islamic liquidity management in financial institutions.

The Tenth Meeting of the OIC Steering Committee on Health was hosted by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Turkey on 16 November 2015 in Istanbul. The Tenth SCH started with the opening speeches of Dr. Öner Güner, The General Director of EU and Foreign Affairs from MoH Turkey; Mohammed Naeem Khan, OIC Assistant Secretary and the Chair of the Committee Maura Linda Sitanggang, General Director from MoH Indonesia.

The Third Meeting of Lead Country Coordinators (LCCs) was held on 14-15 November 2015 in Istanbul, Republic of Turkey. The meeting was attended by representatives of the LCCs, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Oman, Sudan, and Turkey as well as OIC General Secretariat and relevant OIC institutions.

SESRIC organised a workshop on “Islamic Social Financing: Microfinance and Microtakaful” in Almaty, Kazakhstan on 12-13 November 2015, in collaboration with the Association of National Development Finance Institutions (ADFIMI).

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised the training course on “Effective Written Communication Techniques" at the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in Abuja, Federal Republic of Nigeria on 11-13 November 2015. The course was conducted by Mr. Godfrey Nabongo, Manager of Communication and Public Relations Department at the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), with the participation of relevant officials of the NBS of Nigeria.

SESRIC organised a further technical mission on ‘Integration of Tobacco Questions for Surveys (TQS) – Sampling Methods’ on 10-13 November 2015 in Baku with the participation of eight officials of State Statistical Committee (SSC) of the Republic of Azerbaijan in collaboration with the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) under the scope of the project initiated by SESRIC on the ‘Integration of TQS into Ongoing National Surveys in Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Member States’. The technical mission conducted by Mr. Yılmaz Erşahin, Expert at Sampling and Analysis Techniques Department of TurkStat.

The Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) and the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to share data, publications, documents, studies and statistics in possession relevant to the scientific and economic standings as well as universities, R&D organisations and S&T sector of the common member countries. SESRIC and COMSATS agreed to conduct joint research studies aimed at assessing socio-economic needs as well as to jointly organize workshops, seminars and training courses in common member countries.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the training course on ‘Population and Housing Censuses; Registers of Population; Dwellings and Buildings’ at the Directorate of Statistics under the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation of Somalia on 08-13 November 2015, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The course was conducted by Mr. Abdellaziz Ben Hadj Abdullatif, Expert at African Development Bank (ADB) with participation of relevant officials.

SESRIC participated in the Arab Region Meeting on the Implementation of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction which was held on 8-10 November 2015 in Cairo, Egypt. The objective of the meeting was to elaborate a regional road map for the implementation of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 in the Arab Region. The meeting was able to achieve the following:

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between SESRIC and The Association of Education for the Future (GED) on 6 November 2015, in Ankara. The memorandum aims to allow the institutions to collaborate in the field of education specifically on conducting joint projects, vocational education, innovation and sharing know-how and best practices.

SESRIC organised a training course on “Investor and Financial Community Awareness” at the Qatar Financial Markets Authority on 04-05 November 2015, within the framework of OIC Capacity Building Programme for Stock Exchanges (OIC-SEP). The Course was provided by the Mr. Hüseyin Evren Arık, Senior Specialist of Borsa İstanbul, Republic of Turkey, with the participation of relevant members of the Qatar Financial Markets Authority.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised the training course on “Business Registers” at the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS) of Qatar on 3-5 November 2015. The course was conducted by Ms. Siti Haslinda Mohd Din, Director of Methodology & Research Division at Department of Statistics (DOS) of Malaysia, with the participation of 24 officials of the MDPS of Qatar.

During 3-4 November 2015 at the OIC’s General Secretariat in Jeddah an “Intergovernmental Expert Group” meeting convened with an aim to assess the OIC Action Plan for the Advancement of Women (OPAAW) and to review its implementation.

The 3^rd Session of the Islamic Conference of Labour Ministers (ICLM) was held in Jakarta, Republic of Indonesia during 28-30 October 2015 under the theme “Mainstreaming Youth Employment and Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) in OIC Member States”. The Senior Officials Meeting, which preceded the Ministerial Conference, was held on 28-29 October with the participation of Senior Officials from the Ministries of labour of 35 member countries. The Meeting was also attended by representatives of the OIC General Secretariat and the relevant OIC and international institutions. SESRIC was represented by Amb. Musa Kulaklıkaya, Director General of SESRIC, and Dr. Kenan Bağcı, Senior Researcher.

The General Guidelines on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) was endorsed by the Third Islamic Conference of Labour Ministers (ICLM) held in Jakarta, Indonesia on 28-30 October 2015. The guideline document was originally drafted by the members of the OIC Occupational Safety and Health Network (OIC OSHNET) following a workshop on “Occupational Safety and Health Regulations and Standards” that was jointly organised with the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC), Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security of Turkey in Istanbul, Turkey on 4 May 2014.

SESRIC has launched the OIC Labour Market Report 2015 during the 3rd Islamic Conference of Labour Ministers, which was held in Jakarta, Indonesia during 28-30 October. This report analyses the current state of labour market in OIC countries and addresses some of the key related issues which still constitute major challenges for them in this important area. These include skills development and employability, job creation and youth employment, social protection and safety, and participation and migration. The report is organized in six sections:

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the training course on ‘Tourism Statistics’ at the Department of Statistics (DoS) of Malaysia on 26-28 October 2015, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The course was conducted by Mr. Akhmad Tantowi, Expert at BPS-Statistics Indonesia with participation of relevant officials of DoS.

The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) organized the Second Meeting of the Inter-agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (IAEG-SDGs) on 26-28 October 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand. The meeting was hosted by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). Dr. Atilla Karaman, Senior Researcher, Statistics and Information Department, represented the Centre thereat.

The Second Meeting of the Technical Committee of the Arab Statistics Initiative “ArabStat” was organized by the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) on 21-22 October 2015 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates with the participation of the representatives of National Statistical Offices (NSOs), Central Banks (CBs) and Ministries of Finance (MoFs) of Arab states, and international organizations including International Monetary Fund (IMF), Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Statistical Center for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC- Stat), Statistical Economic and Social Research and Training Center for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA). Dr. Atilla Karaman, Senior Researcher, Statistics and Information Department, represented the Centre thereat.

The Elderly Workshop was co-organised by Istanbul University, Galatasaray University, Istanbul Şehir University and the Ministry of Family and Social Policies on 20-21 October 2015 in Istanbul, Turkey. The Elderly Workshop aims at bringing together academicians, governmental institutions, non-governmental organisations and private sector working in the area of elderly.

HE Ambassador Musa Kulaklıkaya, Director General of Statistical, Economic, Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), addressed the World Statistics Day Forum on 20 October 2015 in Doha, Qatar. Organized by the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS), the Forum was graced by HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al- Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, and HE Dr. Saleh Mohamed Al-Nabit, Minister of Development Planning and Statistics of the State of Qatar.

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) organized the International Conference on Official Statistics, on 20-22 October 2015 in Ramallah, Palestine with the sponsorship of SESRIC.

The Centre in collaboration with Turkish Employment Agency (İŞKUR) organised a study visit to Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training (MINEFOB), Cameroon on 19-23 October within the context of Labour Market Analysis in pursuance to transfer of Skill 10 Project. The study visit was conducted by Mr. Mustafa Özen, Employment Expert and Mr. Yasin Çakmak, Assistant Employment Expert from the Turkish Employment Agency. There have been working sessions with National Employment Fund, Chamber of Commerce, National Institute of Statistic, The Interpatronal Grouping of Cameroon (GICAM) and the other related partners of the project. Yaoundé and Douala, the two industrial cities where the project will be executed were also visited for the relevant assessment to be made in the next phases.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the technical mission on ‘Quarterly National Accounts: Module 1’ at the Central Statistics Organization (CSO) on 17-28 October 2015, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The course was conducted by Mr. Kourosh Javadi Pashaki, Expert at the Statistical Centre of Iran of the Islamic Republic of Iran with participation of relevant officials of CSO.

Turkey hosted the 8^th Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) Summit in Istanbul during 14-16 October 2015 on the theme of “Strengthening Partnerships: Migration and Human Mobility for Sustainable Development.” The Forum, which has been chaired by Turkey since 1 July 2014, brought together around 600 delegates from 150 countries and 30 international organizations, high level officials of international organizations, particularly UN Deputy Secretary-General, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, UN Alliance of Civilizations High Representative, and UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for International Migration, EU Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship as well as representatives of civil society organizations. OIC delegation comprising Ambassador Mouhamadou Doudou Lo, Director General of the Department of the Economic Affairs in OIC General Secretariat, Dr. Kenan Bağcı, Senior Researcher at SESRIC, and Ms. Esma Demirtaş, Researcher at SESRIC attended the meeting. Ambassodor Musa Kulaklıkaya, Director General of SESRIC, also attended the opening session of the Forum.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the training course on 'Integrated Water Resources Management' at the Palestinian Water Authority on 13^th-14^th October 2015, within the framework of the Water Resources Management Capacity Building Programme (Water-CaB). The course was conducted by Mr. Burhan Fuat ÇANKAYA, Expert at the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs with participation of relevant experts of PWA.

The Statistical, Economic, Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) participated in the Peer Review (PR) Information Meeting organized by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) at its Headquarters in Ankara, Turkey on 13 October 2015. The Centre was represented by Mrs. Zehra Zumrut Selcuk, Director of Statistics and Information Department, and Dr. Atilla Karaman, Senior Researcher, Statistics and Information Department.

SESRIC organised a training workshop on “Beneficiary-Oriented Social Assistance Models” at SESRIC Headquarters in Ankara, Turkey during the period 13-15 October 2015, in collaboration with the Ministry of Family and Social Policy Republic of Turkey.

SESRIC participated in the 6^th meeting of the COMCEC Agriculture Working Group that took place in Ankara on October 8, 2015. The theme of meeting was:” Promoting Agricultural Value Chains in the OIC Member Countries.” The Agriculture working group held discussions on:

The 37th Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) was held in Istanbul, Republic of Turkey, on 8 - 9 October 2015.

SESRIC organised a Special Session on “Strengthening Technical Cooperation among OIC Member Countries: The Role of SESRIC” on the sideline of the 37^th Meeting of the Board of Directors, on 8 October 2015 in Istanbul, Turkey.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security of Mozambique, SESRIC organised a two day Training for Trainers on “Methods of Control of Pest, Disease and Weeds in Cotton” in Namialo-Nampula, Mozambique. The target group of this two day ToT was the experts, farmers and staffs from different relevant institutions, namely, Mozambique Institute for Cotton (IAM), Forum for Cotton Farmers (FONPA), Nova Algodoeira, and China Africa Cotton. Training for Trainers was conducted by expert Mr. Cahit KAYA from Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock Republic of Turkey. Below topics were covered in the two day ToT:

Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) was represented in the symposium on "Human Resource Policies: Development, Retention, and Training" in İzmir, Turkey during 6-7 October 2015 by Mr. Mansur Boydaş, Programme Coordinator. The workshop was jointly organised by the Social Security Institution of the Republic of Turkey and International Social Security Association (ISSA).The main objective of the symposium was to bring social security-related institutions and organizations in OIC Member Countries together, as well as to discuss the developments in light of the current socio-economic changes and trends, and to draw attention to technical and experienced administrative problems, sharing best practices among participants.

As part of the joint SESRIC-IDB Seminar Series, the world renowned economist Professor Kaoru Yamaguchi from the Japan Futures Research Centre delivered a seminar under the title of: Money and Macroeconomic Dynamics, an Accounting System Dynamics Approach.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the training course on ‘Labour Statistics’ at the Department of Statistics and Demographic Studies (DISED) of Djibouti on 5-7 October 2015, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The course was conducted by Mr. Moise Georges Enoh, Expert at the National Institute of Statistics (NIS) of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire with participation of relevant officials of DISED.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the training course on ‘Professional Skills for Official Statisticians: Time Management’ at the National Statistical Committee (NSC) of the Kyrgyz Republic on 28-29 September 2015, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The course was conducted by Mr. Nijat Akhmedov , Expert at DemirBank of Azerbaijan with participation of relevant officials of NSC.

The Centre organised, a training course on ‘‘Cross-border Activities’’ on 28-30 September 2015 at the venue of the Djibouti Railways Company (SDCF). The three day course was provided by tow experts Mr. Kadir Eryiğit and Mr. Çağdaş Görgülü nominated from the Turkish State Railways (TCDD), Turkey. The target group of this three day training course was the participants from the SDCF and Ethiopian Railways Corporation (ERC). The Training Course on ‘‘Cross-border Activities’’ mainly covered the following subjects:

The Centre in collaboration with the Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU), Uganda organised a two day training course on ‘‘Green House Farming’’ in Kampala, Uganda. The target group of this two day training course was the potential entrepreneurs of green-house farming and staffs from different relevant institutions of Uganda. The two day training course was conducted by the experts, Mr. Veysel Aras, Agricultural Engineer at the Alata Horticultural Research Institute, Department of Breeding and Genetic in the constitution of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Livestock, Turkey and Dr. Ayhan Aydin. Below topics were covered in the two day course:

Adopted in 2012, the Strategy Document of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) is the first vision document for the COMCEC for six main cooperation areas including tourism. To achieve strategic objectives defined in the COMCEC Strategy, COMCEC Coordination Office launched the COMCEC Project Cycle Management (PCM) Programme in 2013. Carried out under the support of COMCEC PCM Programme and coordinated by SESRIC, the project titled “2014-SESRIC-016 Improving Statistical Capacities of OIC Member Countries in Poverty Statistics” aims at building statistical capacity in poverty statistics and overall contributing to the National Statistical Systems (NSS) of the member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) through capacity building programs including short-term trainings.

Adopted in 2012, the Strategy Document of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) is the first vision document for the COMCEC for six main cooperation areas including poverty. To achieve strategic objectives defined in the COMCEC Strategy, COMCEC Coordination Office launched the COMCEC Project Cycle Management (PCM) Programme in 2013. Carried out under the support of COMCEC PCM Programme and coordinated by SESRIC, the project titled “2014-SESRIC-016 Improving Statistical Capacities of OIC Member Countries in Poverty Statistics” aims at building statistical capacity in poverty statistics and overall contributing to the National Statistical Systems (NSS) of the member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) through capacity building programs including short-term trainings.

The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO); the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS); the Inter Islamic Network on Information Technology (INIT); the COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT); and the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) jointly organised the 5^th International Workshop on "Internet Security: Enhancing Information Exchange Safeguards" on 14-18 September 2015 in Ankara, Turkey.

The Centre organised the 2^nd International Islamic Economics and Finance Summer School on 13-15 September 2015 in Istanbul, Turkey, in collaboration with Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University International Research and Study Centre of Islamic Economics and Finance. The main purpose of the summer school to was to give fundamental knowledge about Islamic economics and finance, encourage academic studies in the field and provide an opportunity for the specialists in the field to cooperate in and promote Islamic finance.

The Centre organised the 2^nd International Islamic Economics and Finance Conference on 11-13 September 2015 in Istanbul, Turkey, in collaboration with Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University International Research and Study Center of Islamic Economics and Finance, Albaraka Turk, Kuveyt Turk, Türkiye Finans, Participation Banks Association of Turkey (TKBB), Borsa İstanbul and World Bank Global Islamic Finance Development Center.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the training course on 'Geographic Information Systems (GIS)' at the National Institute of Statistics (NIS) of Tunisia on 7-9 September 2015, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The course was conducted by Mrs. Amal Mohamed El Sharnoby, Expert at the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) of the Arab Republic of Egypt with participation of relevant officials of NIS.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the technical mission on 'Module 2: CPI Re-basing' to the Central Statistics Organization (CSO) of Afghanistan on 29 August – 4 September 2015, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The mission was conducted by Mr. Mostafa Farrokhfal, Expert at the Statistical Centre of Iran.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the training course on 'Agricultural Surveys' at the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on 25-27 August 2015, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The course was conducted by Mr. Arap Diri, Expert at the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT) with participation of relevant officials of BBS.

Adopted in 2012, the Strategy Document of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) is the first vision document for the COMCEC for six main cooperation areas including poverty. To achieve strategic objectives defined in the COMCEC Strategy, COMCEC Coordination Office launched the COMCEC Project Cycle Management (PCM) Programme in 2013. Carried out under the support of COMCEC PCM Programme and coordinated by SESRIC, the project titled “2014-SESRIC-016 Improving Statistical Capacities of OIC Member Countries in Poverty Statistics” aims at building statistical capacity in poverty statistics and overall contributing to the National Statistical Systems (NSS) of the member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) through capacity building programs including short-term trainings.

The Centre organised a five day training course on ‘‘Poverty Reduction Through Small-scale Fisheries’’ on 23-27 August 2015 in Mogadishu, Somalia, in collaboration with the Somali Development and Reconstruction Bank (SDRB).

The Centre organised a training course on “Methods of Water Data and Information Collection (Water Statistics)” on 19-20 August 2015 at the venue of the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA), Palestine.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the training course on ‘Professional Skills for Official Statisticians: Effective Oral Communication Techniques’ at the Agency of Statistics (AoS) of the Republic of Kazakhstan on 17-19 August 2015, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The course was conducted by Mr. Sanan Hasanov, Expert at Business Management Group International (BMGI)of Azerbaijan with participation of relevant officials of AoS.

Adopted in 2012, the Strategy Document of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) is the first vision document for the COMCEC for six main cooperation areas including poverty. To achieve strategic objectives defined in the COMCEC Strategy, COMCEC Coordination Office launched the COMCEC Project Cycle Management (PCM) Programme in 2013. Carried out under the support of COMCEC PCM Programme and coordinated by SESRIC, the project titled “2014-SESRIC-016 Improving Statistical Capacities of OIC Member Countries in Poverty Statistics” aims at building statistical capacity in poverty statistics and overall contributing to the National Statistical Systems (NSS) of the member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) through capacity building programs including short-term trainings.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised the training course on 'Health Statistics' at the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) in Dhaka, People’s Republic of Bangladesh on 11-13 August 2015. The course was conducted by Mr. Gantjang Amannullah, Head of Social Statistics Division at the East Java Regional Office of BPS-Statistics Indonesia, with the participation of relevant officials of the BBS.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised the training course on “Wholesale and Retail Trade Statistics” at the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) in Kampala on 10-12 August 2015. The course was conducted by Mr. Abdullah Yuksel, Expert at Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), with the participation of relevant officials of the UBOS.

The Centre organised, in collaboration with the Ministry of Family and Social Policies Republic of Turkey, a training course on “Regional Poverty Reduction Policies” within the framework of the OIC Poverty Alleviation Programme (OIC-PAP) on 3-4 August 2015 in Tirana, Albania. The course was provided by Mr. Nevzat Kunduracı, Family and Social Policies Expert of the Ministry of Family and Social Policies Republic of Turkey and attended by several experts from the Ministry of Urban Development of Albania.

The Centre organised a conference on cotton, namely ‘‘From Farm to Fashion’’ on 3-5 August 2015 at Izmir, Turkey in active collaboration with the Rural Business Development Center (RBDC), Oxfam Novib, Lok Sanjh Foundation (LSF) and Nazilli Cotton Research Centre.

The Statistical, Economic, Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) in collaboration with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Libya Enterprise, organised a consultative meeting to discuss and review the research conducted for the diagnostic study as part of the Libya SME Development Strategy Project on 29-30 July 2015, in Istanbul, Republic of Turkey. Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) and Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO) provided local hospitality throughout the meeting.

The Centre organised, in collaboration with the Ministry of General Affairs of the Kingdom of Morocco, a training course on "Cartels/Horizontal and Vertical Agreements" within the framework of the OIC Capacity Building Programme for Competition Authorities (OIC-CA-CaB) on 27-28 July 2015 in Cotonou, Benin. The course was provided by Mr. Bousselmame El Hassane, Director of Competition, Awards and Investment Promotion of the Ministry of General Affairs and Governance, Kingdom of Morocco, with the participation of relevant members of the Directorate of Competition and Fight against Fraud, Republic of Benin.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the training course on 'Labour Statistics' at the National Institute of Statistics, Economic and Demographic Studies (INSEED) in N'Djamena, Republic of Chad on 27-29 July 2015, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The course was conducted by Mr. Jean Rodrigue Malou, expert on Social Statistics at National Agency of Statistics and Demography (ANSD) of Senegal with participation of relevant officials of INSEED.

Phaco Training Project, which was implemented in Dakar, Senegal during the period 25 July-8 August 2015 in partnership with İNSADER (Human Health Association), a member of Ibn Sina Alliance of Health NGOs, was successfully completed.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised the training course on 'Professional Skills for Official Statisticians: Effective Oral Communication Techniques' at the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in Abuja, Federal Republic of Nigeria on 22-24 July 2015. The course was conducted by Mr. Godfrey Nabongo, Manager of Communication and Public Relations Department at the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), with the participation of relevant officials of the NBS of Nigeria.

The Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) and National Statistical Office (ONS) of Islamic Republic of Mauritania signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to facilitate collaboration and cooperation between both institutions within the framework of the project titled “Integration of the ‘Tobacco Questions for Surveys (TQS)’ into the National Surveys in Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Member States”. The MoA was signed on 10 July 2015 by HE. Amb. Musa KULAKLIKAYA, Director General of SESRIC, and Mr. Mohamed El Moctar Ould AHMAD SIDI, Director General of ONS of Islamic Republic of Mauritania.

The Centre organised a training course on ‘Financial Stability’ within the framework of the OIC Capacity Building Programme for Central Banks (OIC CB-CaB) on 7-8 July 2015 in Paramaribo, Suriname. The training course was provided by Mr. Mehmet Onay, Chief, Banking and Financial Institutions Department of the İstanbul School of Central Banking (ISCB), Republic of Turkey, with the participation of relevant members of the Central Bank of Suriname.

SESRIC and IDB jointly launched a series of seminars to gain better insight about socio-economic issues, promote a deeper understanding of key concepts, learn from pioneering practices, foster collaboration and cooperation among institutions and to harness the power of critical thinking through intriguing questions.

Ambassador Musa KULAKLIKAYA, Director General of SESRIC, was received by H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Turkey at the Presidential Complex on 01 July 2015.

Amb. Musa KULAKLIKAYA, Director General of SESRIC, hosted an Iftar dinner celebrating the holy month of Ramadan in Ankara, Turkey. Ambassadors of OIC Member Countries and representatives of International Organisations resident in Ankara attended the iftar dinner.

Ambassador Musa Kulaklıkaya, Director General of the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), paid a one-day official visit to İstanbul on 23^rd June 2015.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised the training course on 'Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Statistics' at the Gambia Bureau of Statistics (GBOS) in Banjul on 16-18 June 2015. The course was conducted by Mr. Victor Uttah, Senior Statistician at the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) of Nigeria, with the participation of relevant officials of the GBOS.

The Centre organised, in collaboration with the Ministry of General Affairs of the Kingdom of Morocco, a training course on "Basics of Competition Law" within the framework of the OIC Capacity Building Programme for Competition Authorities (OIC-CA-CaB) on 15-16 June 2015 in Lomé, Togo. The course was provided by Mr. Bousselmame El Hassane, Director of Competition, Awards and Investment Promotion of the Ministry of General Affairs and Governance, with the participation of relevant members of the Ministry of Trade and Promotion of the Private sector, Republic of Togo.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the technical mission on 'Module 1: CPI Re-Basing' to the Central Statistics Organization (CSO) of Afghanistan on 13-19 June 2015, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The mission was conducted by Dr. Mohammadsadegh Alipour, Expert at the Statistical Centre of Iran.

“Women-Friendly Cities United Nations Joint Programme” (UNJP) was initiated in 2006 with the aim of mainstreaming gender equality in planning and programming processes of local administrations. The Women Friendly Cities UNJP aimed at empowering local administrations and women’s organizations for establishing strong collaboration among them. After the completion of the 1st phase in 2010, the 2nd phase of the United Nations Women Friendly Cities Joint Programme was initiated in April 2011 and finalized in 10-11 June 2015 with an international conference held in Ankara. Mrs. Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk and Dr. Cem Tintin represented the Centre thereat.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised the training course on 'Financial Statistics and National Accounts Compilations' at the National Statistical Office (ONS) of People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria on 8-11 June 2015. The course was conducted by Mr. Mohamed Adel Souidene, Central Director of National Accounts, National Institute of Statistics (INS) of Republic of Tunisia, with the participation of 19 officials of the ONS of Algeria.

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the Statistical, Economic, Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) organized a side event during the 40th Annual Meeting of the IDB Group, which was held in Maputo, Mozambique during 7-11 June 2015. The side event was held on 8 June 2015 with the theme of “Disaster Risk Management Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa”.

Within the framework of the OIC Tourism Capacity Building Programme (Tr-CaB), SESRIC organised the Training Course on “Management of Tourism in Protected Areas " at the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) in Riyadh on 08-10 June 2015. The course was conducted by the experts Ms. Begum Soysal, and Mr. Mustafa Kaymak from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey with the participation of relevant officials of the SCTH.

The First Meeting of National Focal Points (NFPs) for the OIC Water Vision took place on 3-5 June 2015 in Istanbul, Turkey. The meeting was attended by the National Focal Points from OIC Member States, OIC Institutions, and Observers. SESRIC was presented in the meeting by Senior Researcher Mr. Mazhar Hussain and Researcher Mr. Fadi Farasin. SESRIC updated the attendees on its water related activities along four dimensions reflecting the core areas of its mandate i.e. statistics, data dissemination, research, and training.

SESRIC organised, in collaboration with Turkish State Railways (TCDD), Middle-East Railway Training Center (MERTCe) and International Union of Railways (UIC), a training workshop on the “Carriage of Dangerous Goods: the legal framework and challenges for employees” on 02-04 June at Eskişehir, Turkey.

Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), organised a training course on ‘Financial Stability’ at the Central Bank of Islamic Republic of Iran on 01-02 June 2015, within the framework of OIC Central Banks Capacity Building Programme (CB-CaB). The Course was provided by Mr. Mahir Binici, Economist, Banking and Financial Institutions Department of Istanbul School of Central Banking and was attended by relevant members of the Central Bank of Islamic Republic of Iran.

The Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) and Agency on Statistics under President of the Republic of Tajikistan signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to facilitate collaboration and cooperation between both institutions within the framework of the project titled “Integration of the ‘Tobacco Questions for Surveys (TQS)’ into the National Surveys in Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Member States”. The MoA was signed on 01 June 2015 by H.E. Amb. Musa KULAKLIKAYA, Director General of SESRIC, and Mrs. Gulnora HASANZODA, Director of Agency on Statistics under President of the Republic of Tajikistan.

The First Meeting of the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (IAEG-SDGs) took place on 1-2 June 2015 in New York with the attendance of a large spread of representatives from National Statistics Offices (NSOs), international organizations, and civil society entities. Dr. Atilla Karaman, Senior Researcher at the Statistics and Information Department, represented the SESRIC thereat.

Ambassador Musa KULAKLIKAYA, Director General of SESRIC, paid a courtesy visit to Mrs. Mariam Al-Aqeel, Director General of Central Statistical Bureau (CSB) of Kuwait and Member of SESRIC Board of Directors, in Kuwait on 28 May 2015.

The 42^nd Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) was hosted by the State of Kuwait and held in Kuwait City on 27-28 May 2015 under the theme “Session of Joint Vision for Promotion of Tolerance and Denunciation of Terrorism”. The meeting came at a time when various critical issues and conflicts are currently affecting the region of the OIC member countries and the Muslim world as a whole.

The Centre organised a training course on “Investor and Financial Community Awareness” at the Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (AMBD) on 25-26 May 2015, within the framework of OIC Capacity Building Programme for Stock Exchanges (OIC-SEP). The Course was provided by the Mr. Hüseyin Evren Arık, Senior Specialist of Borsa İstanbul, Republic of Turkey, with the participation of relevant members of the AMBD. The participants are awarded by a certificate of attendance to the training course at the closure.

The Centre in collaboration with Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture (ICCIA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization (KOSGEB) of Turkey and Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UNCCI) of Uganda organised a training course on ‘‘Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Development’’ in Kampala, Uganda on 25-26 May 2015.

The Centre organised a training course on “Occupational Hygiene” in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Social Security of the Republic of Turkey on 19-20 May 2015. The training course was provided by Mr. İsmail Fırat Yavuzdemir, Department of Occupational Safety and Health, with the attendance of participants from the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, Republic of Azerbaijan.

The Fourth Meeting of the Forum of Euro-Mediterranean Statisticians, organized by the Eurostat, was held on 19-20 May 2015 in Luxembourg with the participation of 32 representatives from National Statistics Offices (NSOs) of the Mediterranean Region including Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, and Tunisia as OIC Member Countries, the NSOs of European Union and other European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP)-South Countries, and international organizations including European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and SESRIC. Dr. Atilla Karaman, Senior Researcher at the Statistics and Information Department, represented the Centre thereat

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the training course on 'Tourism Statistics' at the State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan (AZSTAT) on 18-20 May 2015, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The course was conducted by Mr. Muharrem Ozcelik, Expert at the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT), with participation of relevant officials of AZSTAT.

The Centre, in collaboration with D-8 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Agriculture and Rural Development Support Institution (ARDSI) of Turkey, organised a workshop on ‘‘Rural Development Policies’’ on 14-15 May 2015 in Ankara, Turkey. The workshop was attended by the related experts from OIC Member Countries which are also in the constitution of D-8. Two technical visits were also held within the frame of the above title.

The 31^st Meeting of the Follow-up Committee of the COMCEC was held on 13-14 May 2015 in Ankara, Turkey, with the participation of the member countries of the Committee (Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Palestine, Egypt, Kuwait, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Qatar, Mali and Niger). The OIC General Secretariat and the following subsidiary, affiliated and specialised organs (SESRIC, ICDT, IDB, ICCIA, OISA and SMIIC) attended the Meeting.

The Fifth Session of the Statistical Commission of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC-StatCom) was co-organised by the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) on 12-14 May 2015 at SESRIC Headquarters in Ankara, Republic of Turkey.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised the training course on 'Analysis of Household Income and Expenditure Data' at the Central Statistics Bureau (CSB) in Kuwait City, State of Kuwait on 11-14 May 2015. The course was conducted by Mr. Mehmet Ali Karadag, Expert at the Turkish Statistics Institute (TURKSTAT), with the participation of 14 officials of the CSB of Kuwait.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the Regional Workshop on 'Spatial Measurements and Statistics, using GIS Technique, for GCC' hosted by National Bureau of Statistics of the United Arab Emirates (NBS) on 10-14 May 2015. The Regional Workshop was conducted by Mr. Birkan Ergüç and Ms. Ayşenur Özcan, Experts at the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT), with participation of official statisticians from the GCC region.

The Centre organised a training course on “Strengthening Extension Activities and Quality Seed Production of Cotton” within the framework of the OIC Cotton Training Programme (OIC-CTP), on 7-8 May 2015 at Cotton Development Board in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The course was provided by Ms. Şerife BALCI, expert from Nazilli Cotton Research Institution, Turkey.

Within the framework of the implementation of the resolutions of the 30th Session of the COMCEC, the Islamic Centre for Development of Trade (ICDT) and Islamic Development Bank (IDB) organized a workshop on “the New Generation of Free Trade Agreements and Their Impact on Intra-OIC Trade of the Arab and African Countries” in Casablanca, Kingdom of Morocco, during 4-6 May 2015.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the training course on 'Poverty, Living Conditions and Cross-Cutting Social Issues Statistics' at the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on 3-7 May 2015, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The course was conducted by Mrs. Maha Dawas, Expert at the Department of Statistics (DoS) of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan with participation of relevant officials of NBS of UAE.

Ambassador Musa Kulaklıkaya, Director General of SESRIC, hosted a Meeting Reception on 29 April 2015 at the Ankara Palace State Guest House. Ambassadors of OIC Member Countries and representatives of international organisations resident in Ankara along with the heads and directors of several local institutions attended the SESRIC Meeting Reception.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised the training course on "Income and Consumption Statistics" at the National Institute of Statistics (INS) in Abidjan, Republic of Cote d'Ivoire on 28-30 April 2015. The course was conducted by Mr. Joseph Fouoking, Head of Department of Institutional Sector Accounts at the National Institute of Statistics of Cameroon, with the participation of relevant officials of the INS of Cote d'Ivoire.

SESRIC organised a further technical mission on 'Integration of Tobacco Questions for Surveys (TQS): Module 2 – Sampling Methods' on 27-29 April 2015 in Baku with the participation of relevant officials of State Statistical Committee (SSC) of the Republic of Azerbaijan in collaboration with the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) under the scope of the project initiated by SESRIC on the Integration of TQS into Ongoing National Surveys in Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Member States. The technical mission was conducted by Mr. Yılmaz Erşahin, Expert at Sampling and Analysis Techniques Department of TurkStat.

The Coordination Meeting was organized by GCC-Stat on 21 April 2015 in Muscat, Sultane of Oman in order to improve communication and cooperation among regional and international statistical organizations working in the GCC region. The meeting aims to exchange information on upcoming activities, prevent the dublication of efforts related to statistics and statistical capacity building and share experiences to move forward for the development of statistical work in the GCC region. The topics discussed in the meeting included a thorough review of the regional statistical progress and developments, the strategy and action plan of GCC-Stat, and deliberations about possible cooperation opportunities towards establishing a common and harmonized agenda for developing statistical capacities in the GCC region.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the training course on 'Wholesale and Retail Trade Statistics' at the State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan (AZSTAT) on 20-22 April 2015, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The course was conducted by Mr. Abdullah Yuksel, Expert at the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT), with participation of relevant officials of AZSTAT.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised the training course on 'Institutional Sectors' at the General Directorate of Statistics and National Accounting (DGSCN) in Lome, Republic of Togo on 20-22 April 2015. The course was conducted by Mr. Mamadou Ngalgou Kane, Chief of the National Accounts Department at the National Agency of Statistics and Demography (ANSD) of Senegal with the participation of relevant officials of the DGSCN.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised the training course on 'Health Statistics' at the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Analysis (INSAE) in Cotonou, Republic of Benin on 20-22 April 2015. The course was conducted by Dr. Adama Sanogo Pongathié, MD and Director of Information Management, Planning and Evaluation Directorate at the Ministry of Health and Fight Against AIDS of Côte d'Ivoire, with the participation of relevant officials of the INSAE and Ministry of Health of Benin.

The Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) and Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) of Arab Republic of Egypt signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to facilitate collaboration and cooperation between both institutions within the framework of the project titled “Integration of the ‘Tobacco Questions for Surveys (TQS)’ into the National Surveys in Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Member States”. The MoA was signed on 14 April 2015 by H.E. Amb. Musa KULAKLIKAYA, Director General of SESRIC, and Mr. Abu Bakr Mahmoud Bakr EL-GENDY, President of CAPMAS of Arab Republic of Egypt.

SESRIC organised a technical mission on 'Integration of Tobacco Questions for Surveys (TQS): Module 1- Survey Design and Methodology' on 13-15 April 2015 in Baku with the participation of seven officials from Household Budget Survey and LSMS Department of State Statistical Committee (SSC) of the Republic of Azerbaijan under the scope of the project initiated by SESRIC on the Integration of TQS into ongoing national surveys in Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Member States. The technical mission was facilitated by Mr. Mehmet Günal, Expert at Health Statistics Department of Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).

The Centre, in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), organised a training programme on “Natural Disasters & Conflicts” within the framework of the Environment Capacity Building (Environment-CaB) Programme, on 11-12 April 2015 at the venue of the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) in Kabul, Afghanistan. The course was provided by Mr. Ahmed Kamal, Member Disaster Risk Reduction (Member DRR), expert from National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) of Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised the training course on 'Analysis of Labour Market Statistics' at the National Agency of Statistics and Demographics (ANSD) in Dakar, Republic of Senegal on 7-9 April 2015. The course was conducted by Mr. Mustapha Ziroili, Head of Analysis and Design Unit, Department of Employment Survey of Department of Statistics (HCP) of Kingdom of Morocco, with the participation of 21 officials of the ANSD, Ministry of Economic and Finance, Ministry of Vocational Education and Crafts, and Ministry of Youth and Employment.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised the training course on 'Government Finance Statistics' at the Department of Statistics of Malaysia in Putrajaya, Malaysia on 6-8 April 2015. The course was conducted by Ms. Mila Hertinmalyana, Statistician at the BPS-Statistics Indonesia, with the participation of relevant officials of the Department of Statistics of Malaysia.

The Centre, in collaboration with the Office of Tunisian Post, organised a training course on “Postal Financial Services, Electronic Services and Letter Post Service” at the venue of the Jordan Post Company on 5-7 April 2015. Mr. Malek Chouchane, Head of Technical and Technological Service at the Tunisian Post Company conducted that two-day course.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the training course on 'Quality Frameworks and Measurement of Performance of Statistical Systems and Offices' at the Agency on Statistics under President of the Republic of Tajikistan (TAJSTAT) on 1-2 April 2015, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The course was conducted by Mr. Gasim Aliyev, Expert at the State Statistical Committee (SSC) of the Republic of Azerbaijan with participation of relevant officials of TAJSTAT.

In line with the Thematic Areas 2 of the OIC Strategic Health Programme of Action (SHPA), SESRIC, in cooperation with the Tobacco and Alcohol Market Regulatory Authority of Turkey (TAPDK) organised a training course on “Tobacco Control” at the premises of Ministry of Health of Malaysia, on 01-02 April 2015, within the framework of the Tobacco Free OIC Initiative. The course was conducted by Mrs. Ayşe Gökalp Kırca Çelik and Mr. Cemil Mullaoğlu, Experts at the TAPDK.

The 38^th Session of the Islamic Commission for Economic, Cultural and Social Affairs (ICECS) was held at the OIC Headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on 31 March – 02 April 2015. The Session has been attended by the representatives of the OIC member countries and those of the OIC and its subsidiary, specialized and affiliated institutions.

The Centre organised, in collaboration with the Competition Authority of the Republic of Turkey, a training course on "Competition Law Enforcement in Regulated Markets and Bid-Rigging" within the framework of the OIC Capacity Building Programme for Competition Authorities (OIC-CA-CaB) on 30-31 March 2015 in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic. The course was provided by Mr. Yalçıner Yalçın, Competition Expert, Turkish Competition Authority and be attended by several experts from the Antimonopoly Regulation Agency of Kyrgyz Republic.

In accordance with the thematic areas of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Strategic Health Programme of Action (SHPA), SESRIC, in cooperation with the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) and Ministry of Health of Turkey, organised a training course on “Emergency and Disaster Medical Services” for health experts from Lebanon at International Urla Emergency Disaster Training and Simulation Center in İzmir, Turkey, on 30 March-10 April 2015. The course was conducted by the experts of Ministry of Health of Turkey.

The Signing Ceremony, which has been organized by the COMCEC Coordination Office (CCO), for the successful projects under the second round of COMCEC Project Cycle Management (PCM) was held in Ankara on 30 March 2015. A total of 17 successful projects under the COMCEC PCM, the main implementation instrument of the new COMCEC Strategy, have been announced on 12 February 2015. These projects were submitted by 11 OIC member countries namely Azerbaijan, Cameroon, Chad, Gambia, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Qatar, Suriname, Turkey, and Uganda and two OIC institutions including SESRIC and ITFC. Amb. Musa Kulaklıkaya, Director General of SESRIC, signed the operational and financial agreements of the successful project of SESRIC entitled to receive grants within the framework of COMCEC Project Cycle Management (PCM).

Ambassador Musa Kulaklıkaya has been appointed as the new Director General of SESRIC as of 27 March 2015.

The Fourth Session of the UNESCAP Committee on Statistics, organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), was held at the United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC) in Bangkok, Thailand on 25-27 March 2015. The Committee Session was attended by delegates from UNESCAP full and associate member countries and representatives from 18 international organisations. 10 out of the attending 33 UNESCAP member countries were also OIC member countries namely Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Maldives and Pakistan. The Centre was represented thereat by Prof. Savas Alpay, Director General, and Mr. Abdulhamit Ozturk, Researcher.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of the OIC Tourism Capacity Building Programme (Tr-CaB), SESRIC organised the training course on "Tourism Marketing" at the Gambia Tourism Board, Ministry of Tourism and Culture (MTC) of The Gambia in Banjul on 25-26 March 2015.

The Centre, in collaboration with the Office of Tunisian Post, organised a training course on “Parcel, Logistics, Express and Postal Financial Services” at the venue of the Mauritanian Post Company (Mauripost) on 24-25 March 2015. Mr. Hafedh Ben Saida, Manager of the Department of Parcel Postage in Tunisian Post Company, conducted the two day training course covering below topics with several question and answer sessions:

A group of eight trainees from different vocational schools of Palestine received training at the Centre for Art and Vocational Training Courses of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İSMEK) on 23-27 March 2015 in Istanbul, Turkey, on the subjects of “Sewing for Ladies Clothing”, “Glassworks and Ceramic Styling” and “Skin Care”. The five-day training programme has been hosted by İSMEK and participants were rewarded with certificates..

SESRIC participated in the 4th Meeting of the COMCEC Financial Cooperation Working Group that took place in Ankara on 19 Marh 2015. The theme of meeting was:” Improving the Supervisory Mechanism of OIC Member Countries.” The Financial Cooperation working group hold discussions on the supervisory framework of the banking sector in the OIC member countries and policy options to improve supervisory mechanisms in the banking sector in OIC member countries.

The Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) and Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS) of State of Qatar agreed on a partnership to facilitate collaboration and cooperation between both institutions within the framework of the project titled “Integration of the ‘Tobacco Questions for Surveys (TQS)’ into the National Surveys in OIC Member States”.

The Statistical, Economic, Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) organized a side event during the third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR), which was held in Sendai, Japan during 14-18 March 2015. The theme of the side event was “Developing Capacities for Effective Disaster Risk Management in Low-Income OIC Member Countries”.

The Centre, in collaboration with the Post and Telegraph Organization (PTT) of Turkey, organised a training course on ‘Postal Financial Services and Postal Codes-Addressing System’ at the venue of the Gambia Postal Services Corporation (GAMPOST), Gambia on 13-14 March 2015. Mr. Ali Manas, Technical Manager, Department of Address Bank Services Management and Mr. İsmail Yılmaz, Branch Manager at the PTT, Turkey provided that two day training course covering below topics along with several question and answer sessions:

The Centre organised a training course on ‘Technical Operations and Infrastructures’ on 10-11 March 2015 at the venue of Sudan Railways Corporation, Sudan. The two day course was provided by Mr. Abdullah Çorak, Manager of Management Projects with External Financing in Turkish State Railways (TCDD), Turkey. The training mainly covered the following topics:

The Centre organised a training course on “Occupational Hygiene” in collaboration with the Saeed Ahmed Awan Centre for the Improvement of Working Conditions & Environment, Pakistan on 9-10 March 2015. The training course was provided by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health, Ministry of Human Resources, Malaysia, with the attendance of participants from public and private sectors in Pakistan.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised the training course on 'National Accounts: Financial Sector' at the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS) in Doha, State of Qatar on 8-11 March 2015. The course was conducted by Mr. Mohamed Adel Souidene, Central Director of National Accounts of National Institute of Statistics (INS) of Republic of Tunisia, with the participation of 34 officials of the MDPS.

The Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) and National Institute of Statistics of the Republic of Cameroon have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to facilitate collaboration and cooperation between both institutions within the framework of the project titled “Integration of the ‘Tobacco Questions for Surveys (TQS)’ into the National Surveys in Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Member States”. The MoA was signed on 06 March 2015 by Prof. Savaş Alpay, Director General of SESRIC, and Mr. Joseph Tedou, Director General of National Institute of Statistics of the Republic of Cameroon.

SESRIC, in its capacity as the Secretariat of the OIC Statistical Commission (OIC-StatCom), organized the annual Meeting with the Delegates of National Statistical Offices of OIC Member Countries on 5 March 2015 between 14:30 and 17:00 in Conference Room C of the UN Conference Building as a side event meeting of the 46th Session of the United Nations Statistical Commission in New York, USA. Delegates from the National Statistics Offices of OIC member countries attended the meeting.

SESRIC participated in the 5th meeting of the COMCEC Agriculture Working Group that took place in Ankara on March 5, 2015. The theme of meeting was:” Strengthening Institutional Capacity: Establishing/Strengthening Farmer Organizations in the OIC Member Countries.” The Agriculture working group held deliberations on: the recent trends in strengthening farmer organizations (FOs) at the global level, farmer organizations and policy environment in the OIC member countries, and policy options for establishing/strengthening farmer organizations in the OIC member countries.

The Forty-Sixth Session of the UN Statistical Commission (UNSC) was held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA on 03-06 March 2015. The Session, which marks the 68th anniversary of the Commission, was attended by representatives of national and international agencies. Prof. Savas Alpay, Director General, and Dr. Atilla Karaman, Senior Researcher, represented the Centre thereat.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised the training course on 'Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Statistics' at the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) in Khartoum, Republic of Sudan on 02-04 March 2015. The course was conducted by Mr. Bassam Daoud Mostafa Zain, Statistician at the Department of Statistics of Jordan, with the participation of 40 officials of the CBS of Sudan.

The Twenty Fifth Session of the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA), a forum with 45 members that promotes inter-agency coordination and cooperation on statistical programmes and consistency in statistical practices and development, was held at United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA on 2 March 2015. Delegates from international and supranational organizations participated in the Twenty Fifth Session of the CCSA. The Centre was represented by Prof. Savas Alpay, Director General, thereat.

In the context of the follow-up of the implementation of the “Executive Programme of the Road-Map for Achieving Intra-OIC Trade Targets” adopted by the OIC Consultative Group on Enhancing Intra-OIC Trade, the Islamic Centre for Development of Trade (ICDT) and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), member of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group, organised the 7th Meeting of the OIC Consultative Group on Enhancing Intra-OIC Trade in Casablanca on 2-3 March 2015.

The Centre organised a training programme on “Waste and Harmful Substances: Medical Wastes” within the framework of the Environment Capacity Building (Environment-CaB) Programme, on 2-4 March 2015 in Banjul, Gambia. The course was provided by Mr. Erdoğan Karaca, expert of environment and urbanization in the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization of Republic of Turkey.

The Fifth Meeting of the Poverty Alleviation Working Group organized by the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC) was held on 26 February 2015 in Ankara, Turkey.

The Ninth Meeting of the OIC Steering Committee on Health (SCH) was held on 25–26 February 2015 in Istanbul, Turkey. The meeting was attended by the members of the Steering Committee, inter alia, discussed preparations of the 5th Islamic Conference of Ministers of Health (ICHM) scheduled to be held in Turkey on 17-19 November 2015 and reviewed the status of implementation of the OIC Strategic Health Programme of Action 2014-2023. The SCH Meeting was preceded by Lead Country Coordinators Meeting on 23-24 February 2015 at the same venue.

The Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on the Indicator Framework for the Post-2015 Development Agenda, organized by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), was held on 25-26 February 2015 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, back-to-back with the 46th Session of the United Nations Statistical Commission. The representatives from national statistical systems, supranational, international and regional organizations with expertise in development indicators and monitoring attended and contributed to the EGM. Prof. Savas Alpay, Director General, and Dr. Atilla Karaman, Senior Researcher, represented the SESRIC thereat.

The Centre, in collaboration with the Post and Telegraph Organization (PTT) of Turkey, organised a training course at the Posta Uganda on ‘Parcel, Logistics Services and Express’ on 24-25 February 2015. The course was provided by two competent experts, namely, Mrs. Candan Şenyüz, Acting Deputy Head of International Relations Department and Mr. Hürriyet Doğan Yantiri, Expert of Post and Cargo Services Department in PTT.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised the training course on 'Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Statistics' at the Central Statistics Organization (CSO) in Kabul, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on 23-25 February 2015. The course was conducted by Mr. Vedat Mert, Expert at the Turkish Statistics Institute (TURKSTAT), with the participation of 29 officials of the CSO, Afghan Ministry of Agriculture, Afghan Academy of Science, and Faculty of Agriculture.

The Centre has organised a training course on ‘Postal Financial Services’ within the framework of the OIC Postal Service Capacity Building (OIC PS-CaB) Programme on 17-19 February 2015 at the Office of Djibouti Post in collaboration with the Office of Tunisian Post Company. Mr. Moez Jebali, who is in charge of the Electronic Payments Department at the Tunisian Post Company, provided this three day training course covering below topics:

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the training course on 'Professional Skills for Official Statisticians: Time Management' at the State Committee of Statistics (Goskomstat) in Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan on 16-18 February 2015, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The course was conducted by Mr. Sanan Hasanov, Expert at Business Management Group International (BMGI), with participation of relevant officials of Goskomstat.

The Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) and Committee on Statistics (CS) of the Ministry of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to facilitate collaboration and cooperation between both institutions within the framework of the project titled “Integration of the ‘Tobacco Questions for Surveys (TQS)’ into the National Surveys in Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Member States”. The MoA was signed on 13 February 2015 by Prof. Savaş Alpay, Director General of SESRIC, and Mr. Alikhan Smailov, Chairman of CS of the Ministry of National Economy of Kazakhstan.

SESRIC has participated in the 5th meeting of the COMCEC Transportation and Communications Working Group that took place in Ankara on February 12, 2015. The theme of meeting was:” Evaluating the Ownership, Governance Structures, and Performances of Ports in the OIC Member States.” In addition to SESRIC, the meeting was attended by representatives of 11 Member States which were: Afghanistan, Gambia, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Malaysia, Morocco, Mozambique, Saudi Arabia, Suriname and Turkey. Also Representatives of COMCEC Coordination Office, Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Organization of Islamic Shipowners’ Association (OISA), UNCTAD, Khalid Bichou & Associates Ltd., Drewry Shipping Consultants, and Hogia Transport Systems also attended the meeting. The Transportation and Communications working group held deliberations on the latest global and regional trends in port sector, the current state of institutional and governance structure of the ports in OIC member states, and the efficiency of the ports in the member states.

The Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU), an affiliated institution of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), has officially inaugurated the Habib Medical School on 10 February 2015. The Habib Medical School was inaugurated by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Asuman Kiyingi, on behalf of the President of Uganda, and OIC Assistant Secretary General, Ambassador Muhammed Naeem Khan, on behalf of the Secretary General.

The Fifth Meeting of the COMCEC Tourism Working Group was held on February 5th, 2015 in Ankara, Turkey with the theme “Travel Facilitation for Enhancing Mobility in the OIC Member States”. The Meeting was attended by the representatives of 10 OIC Member States including Gambia, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mozambique, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sudan and Turkey. Representatives from the COMCEC Coordination Office, ICDT, WTTC (World Travel and Tourism Council), IATA, Tourism Economics, and Turkish Airlines have also attended the Meeting. The Centre was represented thereat by Dr. Cem Tintin, Researcher and Mr. Abdulhamit Ozturk, Researcher.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised the training course on 'Geographic Information Systems' at the National Institute of Statistics and Demography (INSD) in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on 3-5 February 2015. The course was conducted by Ms. Marie-Antoinette Ouattara, Chief of Cartography Division at the National Institute of Statistics (INS) of Cote d’Ivoire, with the participation of 17 officials of the INSD.

The Third Meeting of the OIC/COMCEC Private Sector Tourism Forum was held on 29-30 January 2015 in Istanbul, Turkey with a theme “International Branding of Tourism Destinations in the OIC Member Countries. The Meeting was attended by the representatives of 16 OIC Member States. The Centre was represented thereat by Dr. Cem Tintin, Researcher. Representatives from the COMCEC Coordination Office, ICDT, ICD (IDB Group), Tourism Development International and TURSAB also attended the Meeting.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised the training course on 'Education Statistics' at the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Analysis (INSAE) in Cotonou, Republic of Benin on 27-29 January 2015. The course was conducted by Mr. Adjibou Oppa Barry, Statistician at the National Agency of Statistics and Demography (ANSD) of Senegal, with the participation of 23 officials of the INSAE.

The Centre organised a training course on “Manual Card, Smart Card and Civil Registration Systems” on 26-28 January 2015 at the Office of Central Statistics Organization (CSO), Afghanistan. The training course was provided by Mr. Mohammad Karimi, Director of Information Systems Analysis and Design Department, National Organization for Civil Registration of Iran.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised the training course on 'Banking, Insurance and Financial Statistics' at the National Agency of Statistics and Demographics (ANSD) in Dakar, Republic of Senegal on 26-29 January 2015. The course was conducted by Mr. Mohamed Adel Souidene, Central Director of National Accounts of National Institute of Statistics (INS) of Republic of Tunisia, with the participation of relevant officials of the ANSD.

The Centre organised a training course on “Labour Market Statistics” and “Labour Inspection” within the framework of the OIC Capacity Building Programme for Public Employment Services (OIC PESCaB) on 19-22 January 2015 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The training course was held at the National Employment Agency and the course was provided by Mr. Harouna Aby Ly, Director of Labour Statistics and Studies (DSTE), Republic of Senegal with the participation of relevant members of the National Employment Agency, Burkina Faso.

As part of the implementation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Strategic Health Programme of Action (SHPA), the OIC General Secretariat, SESRIC and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) in partnership with the United States Agency for International development (USAID) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have initiated the “Maternal and Child Survival Project.” The inaugural meeting for the Maternal and Child Survival Project took place in Ankara, Turkey between the period 19-21 January 2015 with participation of 7 OIC member countries that are: Afghanistan, Cameroon, Chad, Guinea, Mauritania, Nigeria and Somalia.

Al-Quds Al-Sherif was announced as the capital of Islamic tourism for 2015 by H.E. Iyad Ameen Madani, the Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), as per the Resolution of the 8th Session of the Conference of Ministers of Tourism (ICTM) held on 4-6 December 2013 in Banjul, the Gambia.