The Third Ministerial Meeting of the Trade Preferential System among the Member Countries of the OIC (TPS-OIC) Trade Negotiating Committee (TNC), hosted by the Republic of Türkiye, was held in İstanbul on 10-11 June 2024. Ministers and senior officials representing 42 OIC Member States that are party to the TPS-OIC, as well as relevant OIC and regional intergovernmental organisations, participated in the meeting. The SESRIC delegation, headed by H.E. Zehra Zümrüt SELÇUK, attended the two-day meeting.

On the first day, the Senior Officials Meeting convened to discuss the draft negotiation strategy and work program for the potential expansion of the TPS-OIC. The heads of delegations reiterated their aim to deepen and expand the existing cooperation among the Member States and invited the Member States which have not yet signed or ratified the TPS-OIC Agreements to do so at their earliest convenience. They also stressed the importance of facilitating trade and customs procedures by applying modern techniques and technologies while improving the quality of controls in an internationally harmonised manner for economic development and growth of international trade.

The ministerial session was held on the second day of the meeting, chaired by H.E. Prof. Dr. Ömer BOLAT, the Minister of Trade of the Republic of Türkiye. In his opening speech, Prof. BOLAT highlighted the global and intra-OIC trends in trade flows and emphasised the importance of TPS-OIC as a critical tool for increasing trade among OIC countries. During the meeting, the TNC secretariat provided a concise overview of the background and current status of the system. Participants shared their observations and experiences regarding the implementation of TPS-OIC Agreements. Towards the potential expansion of the TPS-OIC, the meeting took note of the initial discussions on a draft “Negotiation Strategy and Work Plan” presented by the Republic of Türkiye and tasked the relevant authorities to continue their engagement under TNC. The ministers and heads of the delegations of the OIC member countries considered and adopted the İstanbul Ministerial Declaration and the Report of the 3rd Ministerial Meeting of the TPS-OIC Trade Negotiating Committee.

TPS-OIC is one of the most important projects of the COMCEC to foster intra-OIC trade. Based on three agreements, namely the Framework Agreement, the Protocol on Preferential Tariff Scheme (PRETAS) and the Rules of Origin, this system became operational in 2022 with the participation of 13 OIC countries.

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