On the sidelines of the 69^th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) in New York, H.E. Zehra Zümrüt SELÇUK held a bilateral meeting with H.E. Navid HANIF, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA).

During the meeting, both dignitaries discussed issues related to socio-economic development, research, and technical cooperation. They explored potential areas of collaboration while emphasizing the importance of capacity-building initiatives and joint efforts in strengthening statistical processes among OIC Countries.

H.E. SELÇUK provided an overview of SESRIC’s major contributions to advancing intra-OIC cooperation through data-driven research and policy recommendations. She highlighted SESRIC’s efforts in preparing regional strategic plans and programmes of action, which serve as key roadmaps for health, women, labour, islamic tourism, youth, elderly, family, and persons with disabilities. Also, in the field of capacity-building, SESRIC continues to expand its 24 sector-specific Capacity-Building (CaB) programmes, having organized more than 1,250 training activities to date.

H.E. HANIF highlighted the importance of the availability of high-quality data in the social domain as evidence-based social policy formulation can only be possible with the existence disaggregated data. Acknowledging the significant role played by SESRIC in fostering socio-economic development across the OIC countries, H.E. HANIF stressed that comprehensive care systems with appropriate institutional settings can act as strong policy tools to support the family institution. He praised SESRIC’s collaborative efforts with various international institutions and invited the Centre to contribute to the upcoming 2^nd World Social Summit in Doha, Qatar in November 2025 as well as the annual meetings of the UN Commission for Social Development (CSocD).

The meeting concluded with a commitment to explore joint research projects and international events, particularly in the areas of humanitarian crises, peace and security, and refugee issues. Both sides reaffirmed their willingness to enhance cooperation in advancing sustainable development goals and supporting OIC Countries through capacity-building programmes and technical assistance.