Within the framework of SESRIC’s Social Development Capacity Building Programme (SD-CaB), SESRIC, in collaboration with the International Labor Organization (ILO), organised a Webinar on “Good Practices in Preventing Discrimination at Work and Forced Labour”.

SESRIC and the International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO-UNEVOC) convened virtually to discuss and explore potential collaborations and joint initiatives. The meeting between the two institutions focused on feasible partnership for capacity building activities, especially for Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) in all possible sectors.

SESRIC facilitated a meeting between the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population of Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Manpower of the Republic of Indonesia, recognizing the mutual benefits of exploring collaboration on key labour issues.

Within the framework of the Vocational Education and Training Programme for the Member Countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC-VET) and in line with the OIC Technical and Vocational Education and Training (OIC-TVET) Strategic Roadmap 2020-2025, SESRIC organised an Online Training Course on “Enhancing the Competency-based Approach in TVET Curricula and Assessments”.

SESRIC participated in the Global Forum on Islamic Economics and Finance (GFIEF) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, during 28-29 May 2024. The Forum was organized by the Ministry of Finance Malaysia and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) in collaboration with the Securities Commission Malaysia, Labuan Financial Services Authority, the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation, the Islamic Development Bank, the Islamic Financial Services Board and the World Bank Group. The event was a continuation to the 15^th International Conference on Islamic Economics and Finance (ICIEF) recently held in Kuala Lumpur, a platform established since 1976 for intellectual discourses to advance Islamic economics and finance in Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries.

Within the framework of the Regional Project on “Sustainable Development of Tourism in a Network of Cross-Border National Parks and Protected Areas” and under SESRIC’s Tourism Capacity Building Programme (Tourism-CaB), SESRIC, in collaboration with the Islamic Centre for Development of Trade (ICDT), successfully organised an online Workshop on “Developing Sustainable Ecotourism in West African OIC Member Countries”.

H.E. Zehra Zümrüt SELCUK participated in the 1^st AlBaraka Summit convened in Istanbul on 24-25 May 2024. The Summit was organised by AlBaraka Forum for Islamic Economy in partnership with the Investment Office of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye, the Istanbul Financial Center (IFC), the Türkiye Wealth Fund (TWF), Ibn Haldun University, and Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICYF) under the theme “Global Prospects for Islamic Economics: Fundamentals and Needs”. With thematic panels, discussion sessions, workshops, and networking opportunities, the Summit attracted over 1500 participants from 75 countries, providing valuable insights and opportunities to interact with community leaders in the field.

SESRIC held a virtual meeting with the Agency for Sustainable and Operational Social Security (DOST) of the Republic of Azerbaijan to explore collaboration in statistics, economic and social research, and training programmes.

SESRIC held a virtual meeting with Indonesian national institutions to explore potential cooperation in the area of alternative sustainable and renewable energy.

SESRIC, the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) held a virtual technical meeting to advance the Collaborative on Administrative Data (CAD) initiative. The meeting aimed to establish new priorities for CAD, identifying potential collaborations, and initiate joint efforts to enhance the integration of administrative data into statistical production within the OIC region.

An Indonesian Ministerial delegation, led by Mr. Arianto Christian HARTONO, Coordinator of International Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of National Development Planning of the Republic of Indonesia (BAPPENAS), paid a courtesy visit to SESRIC Headquarters in Ankara, Turkiye. The delegation included representatives from BAPPENAS, the Ministry of Cooperative and Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs), and Ministry of Trade of Indonesia. The visit aimed to enhance cooperation between SESRIC and Indonesian national institutions and to explore potential new areas of collaboration in addition to the existing ones.

SESRIC welcomed Prof. Zulfiqar ALI, Director of Programmes & Project Department at the Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS) at its Headquarters in Ankara on 23 May 2024.

SESRIC participated in the 40^th Meeting of the Follow-up Committee of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC). The meeting aimed to review the implementation of the COMCEC Strategy and the OIC-2025 Programme of Action, and to address cooperation areas, including intra-OIC trade, private sector development, financial cooperation, transport and communications, tourism, agriculture, poverty alleviation, and digital transformation.

SESRIC participated in the first meetings of the General Assembly and Steering Group of the International Forum on TOSSD (IFT), hosted by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) in Oslo.

Within the framework of its Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC, in collaboration with the National Health Institute (INSP) of the Ministry of Health of Tunisia, organised a Training Course on “Health Statistics” with the participation of 10 experts from the National Statistical Offices (NSOs) and Ministries of Health of 6 French speaking OIC countries through an online video conferencing platform.

Within the framework of its Stock Exchanges Capacity Building Programme (SE-CaB), SESRIC, in collaboration with Borsa Istanbul, the Secretariat of the OIC Exchanges Forum (OICEF), organised an Online Training Course on “Harnessing Digitalization and AI for the Advancement of OIC Stock Exchanges”.

Within the framework of its Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC, in collaboration with the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT), organised a Training Course on “Labour Statistics” on 20-21 May 2024.

Within the framework of its Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised an Online Training Course on “SDG 5 (Gender Equality) Indicators” with the participation of 17 experts from the National Statistical Offices (NSOs) and relevant national authorities of 7 Arabic-speaking countries of the OIC.

On the margins of the High-Level Regional Seminar on Promoting Cancer Awareness and Advocacy Programme in Abuja, H.E. Zehra Zümrüt SELÇUK met with H.E. Prince Adeyemi ADENIRAN, the Statistician General of the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The meeting aimed to strengthen and expand the collaborative efforts between the NBS and SESRIC.

SESRIC and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) convened virtually on 17 May 2024, for a coordination meeting aimed at exploring potential collaborations and joint initiatives. Among the prospective collaborations discussed were capacity building programmes related to environment.