The 39^th Ministerial Session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC) was held on 2-5 December 2023 in Istanbul, Republic of Türkiye. High-level representatives from the Member and Observer States of the OIC, relevant OIC institutions, as well as other international organizations attended the Session. SESRIC participated in the Session with a delegation headed by H.E. Mrs. Zehra Zümrüt SELÇUK, Director General of SESRIC.

The four-day Session commenced on 2 December with the Senior Officials Meeting. During the Meeting, delegations engaged in discussions on various agenda items pertaining to the improvement of economic and commercial cooperation among the Member States.

During the Session, under agenda item 4, “World Economic Developments with Special Reference to the OIC Member Countries”, and in light of the relevant decision of the 12^th Session of COMCEC, SESRIC presented a report on recent world economic developments and their implications for the OIC Member Countries. The report provided an overview of global and regional economic and financial developments, as well as several policy recommendations for the OIC Member States. In addition, under other agenda items related to the six cooperation areas of COMCEC, SESRIC briefed the Meeting on its Capacity Building Programmes and the activities conducted under the OIC-VET Programme, as well as other initiatives in the domains of research and statistics undertaken since the 38^th Session of COMCEC.

The opening ceremony of the 39^th Session of COMCEC was held on 4 December 2023 under the chairmanship of Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN, President of the Republic of Türkiye and Chairman of COMCEC.

During the ministerial working session, ministers engaged in in-depth discussions on a wide range of topics related to economic and commercial cooperation among OIC Member States. These discussions culminated in the finalization of the agenda for the upcoming COMCEC Session scheduled for 2024. The finalized agenda detailed the key focus areas for the Session, ensuring that all relevant issues and challenges in economic and commercial cooperation facing the OIC Member States were addressed and strategically prioritized to facilitate effective solutions.