The 16^th Session of the UN-OIC General Meeting on Cooperation was held on 22-24 July 2024 in Astana and was hosted by the Islamic Organisation for Food Security (IOFS). The meeting brought together high-level representatives from the Secretariats of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the United Nations (UN) as well as their specialized agencies and institutions.

The meeting was co-chaired by H.E Dr. Ahmad Kawesa SENGENDO, OIC Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Affairs, and H.E. Amb. Khaled KHIARI, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs of the United Nations. SESRIC participated in the meeting with a delegation headed by H.E. Zehra Zümrüt SELÇUK.

Following the statements of the co-chairs at the Plenary Session, H.E. Zehra Zümrüt SELÇUK addressed the meeting where she mentioned about SESRIC’s strident efforts towards the implementation of the Matrix of Joint Activities between the OIC and the UN that was agreed upon during the last meeting in Geneva in July 2022.

H.E. SELÇUK emphasized the significant progresses made by SESRIC vis-à-vis the Cooperation Matrix activities following the July 2022 UN-OIC General Meeting on Cooperation. Notably, SESRIC effectively coordinated 57 out of the 64 activities outlined in the agreed matrix, achieving an impressive implementation rate of 90%. Of these activities, 35 were conducted in close collaboration with UN agencies, indicating SESRIC’s strong collaborative approach and successful record of accomplishment.

Furthermore, H.E. SELÇUK underscored SESRIC’s important role in fostering South-South Cooperation through capacity-building and training programmes in the socio-economic fields for the benefit of OIC Member Countries.

H.E. SELÇUK also stressed SESRIC’s pivotal role in developing the OIC-TVET Strategic Roadmap 2020-2025. This comprehensive plan was a collaborative effort with SESRIC, UNDP, ILO, ICESCO, IsDB, ICDT, and IUT. In line with the resolutions of the 35th Session COMCEC Ministerial Meeting in 2019, SESRIC supervises the implementation of the Roadmap and reporting progress to the COMCEC and its subsequent meetings.

The Meeting concluded with productive discussions and outcomes held across 3 key working groups from 22-24 July, including Cooperation on Political Issues, Cooperation on Economic/Scientific Issues, and Cooperation on Cultural, Social, and Humanitarian Issues.

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