The Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference was held in Istanbul on 18 May 2018 upon the invitation of the Chairman of the Islamic Summit, H.E. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as a result of the brutal massacre of pacifist Palestinian demonstrators by Israel and the official opening of the Embassy of the USA in Al-Quds by violating international law and all relevant UN Resolutions. The issues highlighted in the Final Declaration of the Summit which was organized with the participation of the Heads of State and Government and the relevant ministers of the OIC member countries are as follows;

  • Call for the international protection of the Palestinian population including through dispatching of international protection force.
  • Request the OIC General Secretariat to act immediately to establish an international independent Committee of Experts to investigate the crimes and massacres committed by the Israeli forces against the peaceful and unarmed demonstrators in the Gaza Strip, to determine the culpability of the Israeli officials and communicate the findings to relevant international bodies.
  • Reiterate its rejection of the illegal decision of the President of the United States to recognize Al-Quds as the so-called capital of Israel and reject it as null and void,
  • Consider that any state that follows, accepts or acquiesces in the U.S. Administration’s move or any similar step adopted by other countries is complicit in undermining international law and order; express its determination to respond to these shameful actions with appropriate measures and to take appropriate political, economic and other measures against the countries that recognize Al-Quds as the capital of Israel or move the Embassies there; in this regards mandate the General Secretariat to prepare recommendations on appropriate measures that can be implemented;

Please click to access the full text of the Final Declaratio

We do condemn the systematic massacre by the Israeli Government against the Palestinian civilians protesting the 70th anniversary of Nakba (the great disaster) since 30 March 2018. We also deem all parties remaining silent to this atrocities as the ones joining such a manslaughter and crime.

In addition, we do strongly condemn the transfer of the US Embassy to Al Quds, corresponding to the 70th anniversary of the occupation of the Palestinian territory (Nakba) by Israel which is a serious violation of the international law and the will of the international community as represented by the UN General Assembly Resolution on December 21st, 2017. This decision of the USA supports the terror policies of the occupying country, Israel. We declare that we deem such a decision of the USA as null and void.

May Allah bless the souls of the Palestinian brothers, sisters and children who fell martyr for the cause of Al Quds. We also wish speed recovery to the injured brothers and sisters. We would like to kindly encourage all the OIC Members States to ensure the highest level of attendance to the Extraordinary Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to be held in Istanbul on 18 May 2018.

The 34th meeting of the Follow-up Committee of the COMCEC was held at the Ankara Hilton Hotel on May 9th-10th, 2018.

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The 11th Meeting of the COMCEC Poverty Alleviation Working Group was held on April 5th, 2018 in Ankara, Turkey with the theme of “Quality of Education of in the OIC Member Countries”.

The Meeting was attended by the representatives of 15 member states, which have notified their focal points for the Poverty Alleviation Working Group namely, Algeria, Egypt, Gabon, the Gambia, Indonesia, Iraq, Kuwait, Malaysia, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Senegal and Turkey. Representatives of SESRIC, Turkish Education Association (TED), Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE) and UNICEF Ankara Office have also attended the Meeting.

The Representatives of the Member States have shared their experiences, achievements and challenges in education quality in their respective countries. The Meeting has considered the Studies “Quality of Education in the OIC Member Countries” commissioned by the COMCEC Coordination Office and the “COMCEC Poverty Outlook 2017” prepared by the COMCEC Coordination Office.

For further information on the Meeting, follow the links below:

The 10th Meeting of the COMCEC Financial Cooperation Working Group was held on March 29th, 2018 in Ankara, Turkey with the theme of “Diversification of Islamic Financial Instruments”.

The Meeting was attended by the representatives of 20 Member States, which have notified their focal points for the Financial Cooperation Working Group. Representatives of COMCEC Coordination Office, IDB, SESRIC, Secretariat of OIC Member States’ Stock Exchanges Forum, Secretariat of the COMCEC Capital Markets Regulators Forum AAOIFI, IIFM and Halk Yatırım have also attended the Meeting.

The Representatives of the Member States have shared their experiences, achievements and challenges in the development of Sukuk market in their respective countries. The Meeting has considered the Study “The Role of Sukuk in Islamic Capital Markets” commissioned by the COMCEC Coordination Office and the “COMCEC Financial Outlook 2017” prepared by the COMCEC Coordination Office.

For further information on the Meeting, follow the links below:

The 11th Meeting of the COMCEC Transport and Communications Working Group was held on March 15th 2018 in Ankara, Turkey with the theme of “Governance of Transport Corridors in OIC Member States: Challenges, Cases and Policy Lessons”.

The meeting was attended by the representatives of 21 Member States. The meeting was further attended by the representatives of the COMCEC Coordination Office, World Bank, The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), South-East Europe Transport Observatory (SEETO) and SESRIC.

The representatives of the Member States have shared their experiences, achievements and challenges regarding governance of transnational transport corridors in their respective countries. Further they have deliberated the policy issues that might be implemented to enhance the effectiveness of governance of transnational transport corridors. The meeting has mainly considered the studies titled “Governance of Transport Corridors in OIC Member States: Challenges, Cases, and Policy Lessons” and “Transport and Communications Outlook of COMCEC 2017” prepared by the COMCEC Coordination Office.

For further information regarding the meeting, please follow the links below:

The 12th Meeting of the COMCEC Transport and Communications Working Group was held on October 11th 2018, in Ankara, Turkey with the theme of “Planning of National Transport Infrastructure in the OIC Member States”.

The meeting was attended by the representatives of 15 Member States. The meeting was further attended by the representatives of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Bogazici Proje Engineering Inc., SESRIC and COMCEC Coordination Office.

The representatives of the Member States have shared their experiences, achievements and challenges regarding planning of national transport infrastructure in their respective countries. Further they have deliberated the policy issues that might be implemented to enhance the effectiveness of planning of national transport infrastructure. The meeting has mainly considered the studies titled “Planning of National Transport Infrastructure in the Islamic Countries” and “Transport and Communications Outlook of COMCEC 2018” prepared by the COMCEC Coordination Office.

For further information regarding the meeting, please follow the links below:

The 11th Meeting of the COMCEC Trade Working Group was held on March 7-8 2018 in Ankara, Turkey with the theme of “Facilitating Trade: Improving Customs Risk Management Systems in the OIC Member States”.

The Meeting was attended by the representatives of 28 Member States. Moreover, representatives of COMCEC Coordination Office, ICCIA, ICDT, ITFC, SMIIC, GCC, WTO, WCO, UNECE and ITC have also attended the Meeting.

The Representatives of the Member States have shared their experiences, achievements and challenges in developing special economic zones in their respective countries. The Meeting has considered the Study “Facilitating Trade: Improving Customs Risk Management Systems in the OIC Member States” commissioned by the COMCEC Coordination Office and the “COMCEC Trade Outlook 2017” prepared by the COMCEC Coordination Office.

For further information on the Meeting, follow the links below: