REPORT OF THE TWENTY SECOND MEETING OF THE FOLLOW-UP COMMITTEE OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE FOR ECONOMY

Original : English

REPORT
OF THE TWENTY SECOND MEETING OF THE
FOLLOW-UP COMMITTEE OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE
FOR ECONOMIC AND COMMERCIAL COOPERATION OF THE
ORGANIZATION OF THE ISLAMIC CONFERENCE

(İzmir, 23-25 May 2006)


1. The Twenty Second Meeting of the Follow-up Committee of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (COMCEC) was held in Izmir on 23-25 May 2006.

2. Representatives of the following Member States of the Committee attended the Meeting:

1- Republic of Turkey : Chairman (Permanent)
2- Kingdom of Saudi Arabia : Vice Chairman (Permanent)
3- State of Palestine : Vice Chairman (Permanent)
4- State of Qatar : Vice Chairman (Representing the Arab Region)
5- Republic of Indonesia : Vice Chairman (Representing the Asian Region)
6- Republic of Sierra Leone : Vice Chairman (Representing the African Region)
7- Islamic Republic of Pakistan : Rapporteur
8- State of Kuwait : Member of the Previous Bureau
9- Federal Republic of Nigeria : Member of the Previous Bureau

3. Representatives of the following countries attended the Meeting as observers:
- Syrian Arab Republic
- Bangladesh

4. Representatives of the General Secretariat and the following OIC subsidiary organs, specialized and affiliated institutions also attended the Meeting:
- Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for
Islamic Countries (SESRTCIC)
- Islamic Center for Development of Trade (ICDT)
- Islamic Development Bank (IDB)
- Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI)

(The list of participants is attached as Annex I.)


Opening Session (Agenda Item 1)

5. H.E. Associate Prof. Dr. Abdüllatif ŞENER, Minister of State and Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey, inaugurated the Meeting Following recitation from the Holy Qur’an.

6. H.E. Ahmet Necdet SEZER, President of the Republic of Turkey and the Chairman of COMCEC, sent a message to the meeting, which was read by Mr. Ali Murat BAŞÇERİ, Advisor to the President on Foreign Affairs. In his message H.E. President SEZER emphasized the importance of the economic cooperation among the OIC Member States.

7. H.E. President SEZER drew attention to the %20 intra-OIC trade target set by the OIC Ten-Year Programme of Action. H.E. SEZER also emphasized the importance of the PRETAS in reaching that target. H.E SEZER called up on the member states who have not yet done so to sign and ratify the Agreement and the PRETAS as soon as possible.

8. H.E. President SEZER concluded his message with best wishes for the success of the Meeting.
(A copy of the text of the message of H.E. President Ahmet Necdet SEZER is attached as Annex II.)

9. Following the message of H.E President SEZER, H.E. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdüllatif ŞENER addressed the Meeting.

10. Welcoming the delegates, H.E. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdüllatif ŞENER, appreciated COMCEC for being a valuable platform for the economic and commercial cooperation among the OIC Member States. After giving a concise summary of the recent macro economic outlook in the world and OIC community he stressed the importance of the regional trade agreements in increasing the Intra-OIC trade.

11. In this context, H.E. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdüllatif ŞENER pointed out the urgent need of early signing of the PRETAS for the launching of the second round of trade negotiations under TPS-OIC in 2006.

12. Regarding the implementation of the COMCEC Projects within the context of OIC Plan of Action, H.E. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdüllatif ŞENER called up on the project owners and related coordinator OIC institutions to accelerate their efforts for the implementation of the projects.

13. H.E. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdüllatif ŞENER concluded his speech by indicating sustainable economic development as the way of securing regional peace and stability.
(The text of the Statement of H.E. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdüllatif ŞENER is attached as Annex III.)

14. The message of H.E. Professor Ekmeleddin İHSANOĞLU for the Meeting was read by Mr. Oker GÜRLER, Director of Economic Affairs of OIC General Secretariat.

15. He commended the role of Turkey in promoting economic and commercial cooperation among the OIC Member States by regularly hosting the COMCEC Meetings every year since its inception. He added that Turkey’s long history of civilization, and rich culture as well as its strategic position as the meeting point of East and West makes it highly qualified for playing a greater role in solidifying world peace.

16. While pointing out the interaction between the OIC Ten-Year Programme of Action adopted at the 3rd Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference held in Makkah Al Mukarramah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in December 2005 and the OIC Plan of Action to Strengthen Economic and Commercial Cooperation among them he stated that implementation of the OIC Plan of Action would reinforce the implementation of the Ten-Year Programme of Action and vice versa.

17. He stated that the adoption of the Protocol on the Preferential Tariff Scheme for TPS-OIC (PRETAS) signified a new era in the efforts of OIC Member States to expand intra-OIC trade. In this connection, he also indicated that the OIC Ten-Year Programme of Action mandated COMCEC to promote measures towards strengthening and raising intra-OIC trade to 20% of the overall trade volume during the ten-year period. In this context, he expressed his confidence that COMCEC would spare no effort to achieve this target.

18. H.E. Professor İHSANOĞLU conveyed his deep sense of appreciation to the Government of Turkey and Malaysia for demonstrating solidarity with the less developed countries, particularly in Africa. In this context, he commended the Turkish initiative, African Development Strategy and the Malaysian initiative, capacity building program for poverty alleviation.
(A copy of the text of the message of H.E. Professor Ekmeleddin İHSANOĞLU is attached as Annex IV.)

19. The Meeting was then addressed by the Heads of Delegations of the State of Qatar, Republic of Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Federal Republic of Nigeria and Republic of Sierra Leone on behalf of the respective regional groups. They expressed their thanks and appreciation to the President of the Republic of Turkey, the Government and people of Turkey for their continued support for economic and commercial cooperation among the Member States as well as for the warm welcome and excellent arrangements made for the Meeting. They stressed the need for further strengthening economic cooperation among OIC Member States.

20. A signing ceremony was held and the Head of Delegation of Syrian Arab Republic signed the Protocol on Preferential Tariff Scheme for TPSOIC (PRETAS).

Working Sessions
21. The working sessions of the Meeting were chaired by H.E. Dr. Ahmet TIKTIK, Undersecretary of the State Planning Organization of the Republic of Turkey.

22. After the adoption of the Agenda, the Meeting set up an open-ended Drafting Committee under the Chairmanship of the Rapporteur, H.E. Lt. General (Retd) Syed Iftikhar Hussain SHAH, and Head of the Delegation of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
(A copy of the Agenda as adopted by the Committee is attached as Annex V.)

Background Report of the OIC General Secretariat (Agenda Item 3)

23. Mr. H. Oker GÜRLER, Director of Economic Affairs of the OIC General Secretariat, presented the Background Report of the General Secretariat. In his presentation, he highlighted the various activities undertaken by the Member States and the OIC Institutions in the implementation of the resolutions of COMCEC.
(The Background Report by the General Secretariat is attached as Annex VI.)

Future Activities

24. The Fifth Islamic Conference of Tourism Ministers will be held in Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan, on 9-12 September 2006.

25. ICCI will hold, in collaboration with the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry and with the support of the Saudi Supreme Council for Tourism, the First Private Sector Forum on Tourism on 11-13 September 2006, in Jeddah. The Republic of Mali has offered to host the Second Private Sector Forum on Tourism in 2007.

Recommendations

26. The Committee took note of the Background Report of the General Secretariat.

27. The Committee emphasized the importance of OIC Agreements and Statutes in the area of economic and commercial cooperation. In this connection, the Committee renewed its appeal to those Member States, that had not yet done so, to sign and ratify the Agreements as early as possible, particularly the Framework Agreement on the Trade Preferential System among Member States of the OIC (TPSOIC) and the Protocol on the Preferential Tariff Scheme for the TPSOIC (PRETAS) so as to widen the participation of Member States in the System.

28. The Committee requested the OIC General Secretariat, ICDT and SESRTCIC to consider the existing agreements and statutes in terms of the needs of the Member States and submit a joint report thereon to the COMCEC for consideration.

29. The Committee renewed its appeal to the Member States that were the proponents of the projects, to expedite the formation of the project committees, as envisaged in the Plan of Action, with a view to implementing those projects.

30. The Committee called on the Member States to host sectoral expert group meetings in priority areas of cooperation in the Plan of Action, and took note that the expert group meetings, which were previously offered by some member states, have now become open to other member states to host, in accordance with the May 2006 deadline set by the previous COMCEC sessions .

31. The Committee reiterated the importance of tourism as an area of cooperation among the OIC Member States and urged the member sates to actively participate in the Fifth Islamic Conference of Tourism Ministers to be held in Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan, on 9-12 September 2006.

32. The Committee called upon the Member States to encourage their private sector to actively participate in the First Private Sector Forum on Tourism to be held in Saudi Arabia in 2006.

33. The Committee requested the General Secretariat and OIC institutions to include in its subsequent Background Reports the necessary recommendations, where appropriate.

Review of the Implementation of the Plan of Action to Strengthen Economic and Commercial Cooperation Among OIC Member States (Agenda Item 4)

34. Mr. Oker GÜRLER, Director of Economic Affairs of OIC General Secretariat, presented the report on the review of implementation of the Plan of Action, and the COMCEC Coordination Office submitted the Report of the 8th Sessional Committee.
(The Report by the OIC General Secretariat on the Implementation of the Plan of Action, and the Report of the Sessional Committee are attached as Annexes VII and VIII.)

Recommendations

35. The Committee took note of the report of the General Secretariat and the Sessional Committee.

36. The Committee approved the recommendations of the Sessional Committee, and called on that project proposals to be circulated through the OIC General Secretariat.

37. The Committee took note of the Memorandum on Understanding between Turkish Patent Institute and Islamic Centre for Development of Trade on the implementation of the project called “Technical Cooperation among Patent Offices in OIC Member Countries”.


Review of the Implementation of the OIC Ten-Year Programme of Action Relating to Economic Cooperation (Agenda Item 5)
38. Mr. Oker GÜRLER, Director of Economic Affairs of OIC General Secretariat, briefed the Committee about the developments in this regard.
Background Information
39. The OIC Ten-Year Programme of Action was adopted by the 3rd Extraordinary Session of OIC held on 7-8 December 2005.
Recommendations

40. The Committee decided that the review of the implementation of the OIC Ten-Year Programme of Action be a permanent agenda item of COMCEC.

41. The Committee requested the OIC institutions to continue with their coordinated efforts for ensuring speedy and effective implementation of the OIC Ten-Year Programme of Action.
42. The Committee called upon the OIC Institutions to further implement the OIC Ten Year Programme of Action and to set up their Plan of Actions and Programmes, with the view to achieving the goals of the OIC Ten Year Programme and entrusted them to report to the annual sessions of COMCEC and other concerned OIC fora.

43. The Committee further requested the OIC General Secretariat to report regularly on the subject to the COMCEC.




Report by IDB and ICDT on the Expansion of Intra-OIC Trade (Agenda Item 6)

44. The representatives of IDB and ICDT presented their respective reports to the Committee on the promotion of intra-OIC trade.
(The Reports by IDB and ICDT on the Expansion of Intra-OIC Trade are attached as Annexes IX and X.)

Background Information

45. The IDB mobilized the needed resources through its operational plans under the four trade financing schemes, namely the Import Trade Financing (ITFO), the Export Financing Scheme (EFS), the Islamic Bank Portfolio (IBP), the Unit Investment Fund (UIF) and the three mechanisms (Co-financing, Two Step Murabaha and Syndication) at its disposal. It was noted that IDB allocated total financing of US$6.5 billion towards intra-OIC trade from 1420H-1426H (1999-2005), representing 75% of the approved trade financing operations.

46. The IDB introduced new mechanisms in the area of funds mobilization through co-financing arrangements, Two Step Murabaha Financing (2SMF) and syndications which started in 1420H (1999) for the purposes of financing intra-trade among OIC Member Countries and has mobilized a total of US$2.14 billion through these mechanisms so far, with US$562 million mobilized in 1426H (2005) alone.

47. The IDB has been working to increase intra-OIC trade through financing trade-related projects and technical assistance. In 1426H (2004-2005) under its four trade financing schemes IDB had a total approval of US$1.72 billion.

Recommendations

48. The Committee noted with satisfaction that the intra-OIC trade recorded positive results since the share of intra-OIC trade in the overall trade of the OIC Member States has recorded an increase from 13.5% in 2003 to 14.45% in 2004, and the value of this trade reached approximately 100 billion US dollars in 2004.

49. The Committee emphasized that the Framework Agreement on TPSOIC and the PRETAS are the basis in reaching the 20% intra-OIC trade target set by the Ten-Year Programme of Action among the OIC Member States.

50. The Committee took note of the establishment of International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (IITFC) as a dedicated trade financing entity within the IDB Group and called on OIC Member Countries to extend total support for the successful realization of the objectives of this new entity.

51. The Committee requested Member States to keep on providing ICDT with data relating to trade and investment statistics and regulations.

52. The Committee requested IDB to include in its next report information about the progress regarding the establishment of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (IITFC) and the development with regard to the capital increase of IDB.

53. The Committee requested IDB and ICDT to bring specific proposals and solutions regarding the expansion of the intra-OIC trade to the 22nd Session of the COMCEC.

54. The Committee entrusted IDB and ICDT to follow up the expansion of intra-OIC trade and report it to the COMCEC and other OIC fora.

Activities on Establishing a Trade Preferential System among the OIC Member States (TPSOIC) (Agenda Item 7)

55. The Secretariat of the TNC presented a report on the developments in the trade negotiations under TPS-OIC.

Background Information

56. The First Round of Trade Negotiations under the Framework Agreement on Trade Preferential System among the Islamic Countries (TPSOIC) was concluded in 2005, and the Protocol on the Preferential Tariff Scheme for the TPSOIC (PRETAS) was prepared by the Trade Negotiating Committee. The PRETAS was adopted by the 21st Session of the COMCEC and presented to the member states for signing/ratification.

57. The 21st Session of the COMCEC decided to launch the second round of the trade negotiations under TPSOIC in 2006.


Recommendations

58. The Committee recommended that the second round of trade negotiations would be initiated by the ministers in charge of trade of the Member States participating in the Trade Negotiating Committee with a view to show the political will to establish the Trade Preferential System among the Member States of OIC, to expedite the ratification process of the PRETAS and to work out a road map for the second round.

59. The Committee urged the Member States of the Trade Negotiating Committee to sign the PRETAS at their earliest convenience.

60. The Committee called on the Member States, to accede to the Framework Agreement on Trade Preferential System so as to take part in the trade negotiations, and expressed its satisfaction that the membership of the Trade Negotiating Committee has increased to 17.

61. The Committee welcomed the offer of the Republic of Turkey to host the Second Round of the Trade Negotiations under TPSOIC. The Secretariat of the Trade Negotiating Committee will communicate the Member States the date and venue of the first meeting of the Second Round.

Matters Relating to the World Trade Organization (WTO) (Agenda Item 8)

62. IDB and ICDT submitted their respective monitoring reports on WTO matters.
(The reports by IDB and ICDT are attached as Annexes XI and XII.)

Background Information

63. The IDB has organized two consultative meetings at ministerial and head of delegation level for OIC member countries on the sidelines of the 6th WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong respectively on 12 and 15 December 2005. The two meetings offered opportunity for the member countries to exchange views on the issues on the agenda of the Conference.

64. The 10th Trade Policy Course was organized in French, in Senegal from 23 January to 10 February 2006.

65. The IDB has organized a seminar on accession issues for OIC member countries which are not members of the WTO, on 28-29 March 2006 in Jeddah. The seminar provided the participating countries with opportunity to exchange views on the accession process and to learn from the experience of newly acceded OIC member countries.

66. The IDB has organized a seminar on trade in Services in Abu Dhabi from 22-24 May 2006.

67. The 21st Session of the COMCEC welcomed the full membership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the WTO, which was approved by the 6th Ministerial Conference of WTO held in Hong Kong in December 2005.

Future activities

68. IDB will organize the 11th Trade Policy Course in English, in Istanbul, Turkey from 19 June–7 July 2006.

Recommendations

69. The Committee urged the OIC Member States to participate actively in the ongoing negotiations within the framework of WTO for the issues of high interest for their economies especially those relating to agriculture including cotton, industrial products, services as well as other issues.

70. The Committee called on IDB, ICDT and other related institutions to keep on extending their technical assistance to the Member States in the context of the multilateral trade negotiations.

71. The Committee called on IDB and ICDT to pool and coordinate their efforts to reinforce the human and institutional capacities of OIC Member States, so as to facilitate their full integration into the multilateral trading system on equitable and fair basis. In this connection, the Committee requested IDB and ICDT to coordinate the positions of Member States within the WTO with a view to setting up a common platform of negotiations.

72. The Committee entrusted IDB and ICDT to monitor matters relating to WTO activities and report them to the annual sessions of the COMCEC and other concerned fora.

Cooperation Among the Stock Exchanges of the OIC Countries (Agenda Item 9)

73. Under this agenda item, the Progress Report on the Developments Related to the Promotion of Cooperation among the Stock Exchanges of the OIC Member States was submitted by the İstanbul Stock Exchange.

Background Information

74. The Round Table Meeting on “Promotion of Cooperation among the Stock Exchanges of the OIC Member States” was held in Istanbul on 28 and 29 March 2005.

75. The 21st Session of COMCEC noted the creation of a platform called “OIC Member States Stock Exchanges Forum” as an outcome of the Round Table Meeting.

Recommendations

76. The Committee requested the OIC Member States Stock Exchanges Forum to come up with tangible results at its next meeting in 2006.

77. The Committee called upon the Member States to inform their stock exchanges more about the “OIC Member States Stock Exchanges Forum”, promote it and invite them to join the Forum.

78. The Committee called upon the Member States to communicate with and encourage their stock exchanges to take initiative and host the Second Round-table Meeting of the “OIC Member States’ Stock Exchanges Forum” in 2006.

79. The Committee requested the OIC General Secretariat, in collaboration with Istanbul Stock Exchange, SESRTCIC, ICDT and IDB to follow-up the developments on the subject and report to the next Session of the COMCEC.

Reports by the ICCI on the Private Sector Meetings among the OIC Member Countries (Agenda Item 10)
80. ICCI submitted its report on its activities with regards to the private sector.
(The report of ICCI is attached as Annex XIII.)



Background Information

81. In addition to the Private Sector Meetings, the Islamic Chamber has also been supplementing these meetings by organizing activities that also involve the participation of the private sector. These activities are Privatization Investment Conferences, Forums, Trade Delegations, and meeting of the Private Sector by the President of the Islamic Chamber. The objective of these events is to provide additional opportunity to the Islamic Chamber and the hosting country to interact with the private sector from the other countries and at the same time to present their investment climate and invite foreign direct investment.

82. The Committee was also informed about the new vision and new programmes of the Islamic Chamber, which aim at enhancing the level of economic cooperation, through increasing the exchange of trade and joint venture investment. In this context the ICCI has undertaken an extensive programme to undertake missions to the various regions of the OIC countries, so as to meet the private sector and to invite them to actively involve them and at the same time to get the support of the Governments.

83. The Committee was informed that the first preparatory meeting for the organization of the 12th Private Sector Meeting was held in March 2006 in Dakar.

Future Activities

84. The Committee was informed by ICCI of the following future activities:
• 5th OIC Task Force Meeting on SMEs in June in Istanbul
• Training Programme for Chambers of Commerce end June 2006 in Qatar
• The 2nd Forum for Businesswomen in Islamic Countries in Malaysia, in the third quarter of 2006
• The First Forum on Tourism for Private Sector will be held in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 11-13 September 2006
• The 2nd World Islamic Economic Forum in Islamabad-Pakistan, on 6-7 November 2006
• The 3rd International Conference on Investment and Privatization in OIC Countries, in the Islamic Republic of Iran, in 2006-2007
• The 3rd Forum for the Businesswomen in Qatar in 2007

85. The 12th Private Sector Meeting, which was scheduled to be held in 2006 in Senegal along with the 11th Islamic Summit, has been postponed to 2007, since the Summit has been postponed to 2007.

Recommendations

86. The Committee called upon the Member States to encourage their relevant private sector and chambers of commerce to actively participate in these events.

87. The Committee called upon the ICCI to continue with its efforts for the development of the private sector, by organizing relevant meetings and to continue to submit the reports to the COMCEC for consideration and support for the follow-up of the recommendations

88. The committee called upon the related OIC Institutions, the IDB, NGOs, and the National Chambers of Commerce of the Member States to extend all support to the initiatives of the ICCI related to the development of the private sector.

Report by the ICDT on Trade Fairs of Islamic Countries (Agenda Item 11)

89. ICDT submitted a Progress Report on the preparation of the 11th Trade Fair of Islamic Countries to be held in Dakar, Republic of Senegal in 2007 concurrently with the 11th ordinary Islamic Summit Conference and on the preparation of the second Tourism Fair of OIC Member States to be held in Beirut, Republic of Lebanon on 22nd to 24th June 2007.
(The progress reports by ICDT are attached as Annexes XIV.)

Background Information

90. The 10th Trade Fair of Islamic Countries was organised by ICDT in Manama, in the Kingdom of Bahrain from 5th to 9th February 2005, by the Kingdom of Bahrain and ICDT, under the theme of “Role of the Private Sector in the Economic Integration between the Islamic Countries”

91. The First Agribusiness Exhibition of the OIC Countries was organised by ICDT from 17th to 20th April 2005 at the “Palais des Expositions Pins Maritimes” in Algeria under the theme “The Agribusiness sector: partnership model among the Member States of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference”.

92. The First Tourism Fair of OIC Member States was jointly organized by ICDT, Turkish Association of Travel Agencies (TURSAB) and Exhibition Centre of Istanbul (CNR), in Istanbul on 24-26 November 2005.

Future Activities

93. The ICDT will organize the 11th, 12th and 13th Trade Fairs of Islamic Countries in Dakar, Republic of Senegal in 2007 concurently with the 11th Islamic Summit Conference, in the Republic of Iraq in 2008 and in the Republic of Guineain 2010 respectively.

94. The ICDT will organize also the second Tourism Fair of OIC Member States in Beirut, Republic of Lebanon from 22nd to 24th June 2007 and the 3rd Tourism Fair of Islamic Countries will be held in Egypt in 2009.

Recommendations

95. The Committee urged the OIC Member States to actively participate in the 11th Trade Fair of Islamic Countries

96. The Committee urged the OIC Member States to actively participate in the 2nd and 3rd Tourism Fairs of OIC Member States to be held respectively in Lebanon in Egypt.

97. The Committee requested the ICDT to hold more sector specific trade fairs and to use professional expertise in this way.

98. The Committee welcomed the offer of Syria to host the 4th Tourism Fair of OIC Member States.

99. The Committee requested ICDT to prepare regularly progress reports on the Trade Fairs of Islamic Countries as well as the Tourism Fairs of OIC Member States and the other specialized exhibitions and submit them to the COMCEC Sessions, and the related OIC fora.




Capacity Building Programme for Poverty Alleviation in OIC Member States (Agenda Item 12)

100. IDB submitted a report to the Committee about the recent developments.

Background Information

101. Forum on Trade and Investment Expansion in the Cotton Sector in the Member States of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) was organised in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso from 18th to 19th April 2005.

102. The Second Expert Group Meeting on Enhancing Production Efficiency and International Competitiveness in OIC Cotton Producing Countries was held on 28-30 March 2006 in Izmir.

103. The Fourth Senior Officials Meeting of the Steering Committee on the capacity Building Programme for OIC Countries was held in Bandar Seri Begawan, on 29-30 March 2006.

104. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Government of Turkey and the Islamic Development Bank in May 2006 regarding cooperation pertaining to Turkey’s African Development Strategy.

Future Activities

105. The Third Expert Group Meeting on Enhancing Production Efficiency and International Competitiveness in OIC Cotton Producing Countries will be held on 2-6 October 2006 in Antalya.

Recommendations

106. The Committee requested OIC General Secretariat in collaboration with IDB to monitor matters regarding the Capacity Building Programme in the OIC Countries and report on them to the annual sessions of the COMCEC and other concerned OIC fora.

107. The Committee took note of the recommendations of the report of the Second Expert Group Meeting on Enhancing Production Efficiency and International Competitiveness in OIC Cotton Producing Countries.

108. The Committee appealed to the Member States to assist Palestinian National Authority in resolving their economic problems which arises from the economic embargo aggravating the poverty .

Preparation for the Exchange of Views on “Capacity Building on Trade Facilitation and Investment Among the OIC Member Countries” to be organized during the Twenty Second Session of the COMCEC (Agenda Item 13)

109. IDB briefed the Committee about the workshop on Facilitation of Trade and Investment Among the OIC Member Countries to be held in Jeddah on 26-28 June 2006 by IDB in collaboration with the General Secretariat of OIC.

Future Activities

110. IDB will organize a workshop on the Facilitation of Trade and Investment Among the OIC Member Countries in collaboration with the OIC General Secretariat and any other international organizations and report the recommendations of the workshop to the 22nd Session of COMCEC.

Recommendations

111. Following the presentation made by the COMCEC Coordination Office, the Committee took note of the following past and present proposals as possible themes for the exchange of views sessions to be held during the subsequent COMCEC Sessions.
- Micro-Credit Financing and Poverty Alleviation in Member States
- External Aid and the Least Developed Member States.
- Energizing Trade and Investment in Cotton Sector in OIC Member States

112. The Committee encouraged the Member States to propose other themes for future exchange of views sessions of COMCEC.

113. The Committee requested SESRTCIC to explore a more efficient and result-oriented mechanism for the Exchange of Views Sessions.

Draft Agenda of the Twenty Second Session of the COMCEC (Agenda Item 14)

114. The Committee examined and amended the proposed Draft Agenda of the Twenty Second Session of the COMCEC, which is to be held from 21 to 24 November 2006, in Istanbul.


Recommendations

115. The Committee decided to submit the Draft Agenda to the 22nd Session of COMCEC.
(A copy of the Draft Agenda of the 22nd Session of the COMCEC, as amended by the Committee, is attached as Annex XV.)

Any Other Business (Agenda Item 15)
116. The Committee was informed of the activities of the organization of Islamic Shipowners Association.
117. The Committee called upon Member States to support the Bakkah Shipping Company and its maritime companies to register their ships with the Islamic Protection and Indemnity Club making insurance coverage for cargo, crew, losses and damages.
118. The Committee urged member states shipping companies to benefit from the web-based Cooperative Information System set up in the General Secretariat of the Association to exchange information amongst themselves directly on areas such as chartering, sale, purchase, cargo transfer, excess cargo, wedging, painting and paintwork, insurance, etc. without shipbrokers or middlemen and increase cooperation activities between them with direct contact.
Thanks and appreciation
119. The Committee thanked and appreciated the Member States, OIC Institutions and all the cooperating partners that have carried out the activities which are mentioned in the “Working Sessions” section of this Report or made any contribution to them.

Closing Session
120. At the Closing Session chaired by H.E. Dr. Ahmet TIKTIK, Undersecretary of the State Planning Organization of the Republic of Turkey, the Committee adopted its Report together with its Annexes. The Committee requested the COMCEC Coordination Office to circulate the Report among Member States, and to submit it to the Twenty Second Session of the COMCEC.

121. The representatives of the members of the Committee thanked the Government of the Republic of Turkey for its continuous support to the COMCEC, H.E. Dr. Ahmet TIKTIK for his wise and able chairmanship, and all the participants for their valuable contributions to the working of the Committee.

122. In his closing statement, H.E. Dr. Ahmet TIKTIK, Undersecretary of State Planning Organization of the Republic of Turkey, extended his thanks and appreciations to all the delegates and as well as to all the support personnel that worked at the Meeting for their valuable contributions. He also pointed out some of the important items in the agenda of the Meeting and called on to further develop the cooperation in them, particularly the early signing and ratification of the Framework Agreement on TPSOIC and the PRETAS, and the launching of the Second Round of Trade Negotiations in 2006; the implementation of the COMCEC projects; the Cooperation among the Stock Exchanges of the Member States.
(A copy of the text of the Closing Statement by H.E. Ahmet TIKTIK is attached as Annex XVI.)