SESRIC participated in the 22^nd Meeting of the COMCEC Financial Cooperation Working Group, held with the theme of “Digital Transformation of Payment Systems in the OIC Member Countries” on 16-17 September 2024, in Ankara, Republic of Türkiye.

The meeting brought together focal points from 16 OIC Countries that are members of the COMCEC Financial Cooperation Working Group, alongside representatives from OIC Institutions and Forums, namely: Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), COMCEC Capital Markets Regulatory Forum (COMCEC-CMR), OIC-COMCEC Central Banks Forum, and OIC Exchanges Forum (OICEF).

The technical sessions of the meeting included deliberations on the Financial Outlook of the OIC Member Countries and the draft of the Research Report prepared for the Meeting. Several presentations highlighted lessons from selected case studies as well as experiences of some member countries and private sector on the digitalization of payment systems.

The meeting concluded with a policy debate session where delegates deliberated on the formulation of policy recommendations for the 40^th COMCEC Ministerial Session.

The Working Group (WG) mechanism serves as one of the main instruments of the COMCEC Strategy towards the realization of its objectives. The Strategy ensures active and direct involvement of the Member Country experts in the COMCEC cooperation areas, through regular WG meetings in each cooperation area. The WGs aims to produce and disseminate knowledge, and share experience and good practices. They also provide a suitable platform for creating a common understanding and approximating policies among the Member Countries to overcome their common development problems.

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