The Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC) is the main multilateral economic and commercial cooperation platform of the Islamic world. COMCEC serves as a central forum to address the common development problems of the Islamic Ummah and provide solutions to them.
As one of the four Standing Committees of the OIC, COMCEC was established by the Third Islamic Summit Conference held in Mecca/Taif, in 1981. It became operational at the Fourth Islamic Summit Conference held in Casablanca, Kingdom of Morocco, in 1984, with the election of the President of the Republic of Türkiye to its Chairmanship and convening of its first ministerial level meeting in the same year. COMCEC has 57 Member Countries as well as 5 Observer Countries which are spread over four continents.
The objectives of the COMCEC are as follows:
- To address the economic challenges of the Islamic Ummah and to contribute to the development efforts of the member states.
- To produce and disseminate knowledge, share experience and best-practices, develop a common understanding, and approximate policies among the Member States in line with the vision and principles of the strategy.
- To serve as the central forum for the Member States to discuss international economic and commercial issues.
- To study all possible means of strengthening economic and commercial cooperation among the Member States.
- To draw up programs and submit proposals designed to increase the welfare of the Member States.
- To ensure the overall coordination of the activities of the OIC relating to economic and commercial cooperation among the Member States.
COMCEC convenes annually, usually in October or November, at ministerial level in İstanbul, Türkiye under the Chairmanship of the President of the Republic of Türkiye. So far it has regularly convened 38 Sessions.
COMCEC has initiated many programs/projects and successfully implemented most of them. Please look at the COMCEC Progress Report for more details. Click for the Reports of the COMCEC Sessions.
