A group of seven master trainers from different vocational schools of the Republic of Azerbaijan was awarded with İSMEK Master Trainer Programme (İMTP) Certificate on 28 October 2011 after successful completion of the training course during the period 24 – 28 October 2011 in Istanbul, Turkey.

The Centre organised a training course on “Quarterly National Accounts” at the State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan on 19-21 October 2011. The Course was provided by Ms. Dilek Ozsoy, Head of National Accounts Group at TürkStat and was attended by 7 staff members of the State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The Ministry of Family and Social Policies of the Republic of Turkey organized a conference on “Poverty Alleviation” in the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, on 17 October 2011, in Ankara, Republic of Turkey.

The 27th Session of the COMCEC convened in Istanbul on 17-20 October 2011 with the participation of delegates from 48 OIC member countries. Bosnia-Herzegovina, Russian Federation, Kingdom of Thailand and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus participated in the Session as observers. The OIC General Secretariat, subsidiary, specialized and affiliated organs of the OIC also participated in the Session. A number of international and regional organizations, including GCC, ECO, ECOBANK, UNIDO, FAO, ITC, WAEMU, and D-8, attended the Session. The SESRIC was represented thereat by Dr. Savaş Alpay, Director General; Mr. Nabil Dabour, Director of Economic and Social Research Department; and Dr. Kenan Bagci, Researcher.

The Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) organized and hosted a seminar on “Annual Economic Report on the OIC Countries - 2011" in its headquarters in Ankara on October 14, 2011. The seminar has been delivered by Dr. Kenan Bagci and Mr. Nadi Serhan Aydin, Researchers at the Centre.

The “Fourth WIEF-UiTM Global Discourse on Nanotechnology” was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 14th October 2011. Dr. Savaş Alpay, Director General of SESRIC participated in the event and delivered a special address on the "Current Stance of Science and Technology in OIC Countries".

The First International Halal Congress is organized by Islamic Chamber and Information Center, in partnership with the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Islamic Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Statistical Economic and Social Research and Training Center (SESRIC), Iran Chamber of Commerce Industry and Mines and Muslim Excellence and Competitiveness Corporations Award on 14-15 October 2011, in Ankara, Turkey.

The Forum on Development of Agro-Food Industries in OIC Member States was held in Kampala, Republic of Uganda, on 11-12 October 2011. A total of 250 participants attended the Forum, comprising delegates from 22 OIC member countries, 4 OIC institutions as well as FAO and representatives of private sector, civil societies and community-based establishments. The forum was chaired by H.E. Mr. Tress Buchanayandi, Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries of the Republic of Uganda. Dr. Kenan Bagci, researcher at SESRIC, represented the Centre at the Forum and made a presentation on “The State of Agro-food Industries in the OIC Countries: Prospects and Challenges”.

The Centre organised a training course on “Tourism Satellite Accounts” at National Agency of Statistics and Demography of Senegal on 10-12 October 2011. The course was provided by Ms. Nezha Elmrabet, an expert at the Direction de la Statistique, Morocco.

The Centre organised a training course on “Transport and Communication Statistics” at Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) of Egypt on 9-11 October 2011. The course was provided by Mr. Bouazza BOUCHKHAR, an expert at the Direction de la Statistique- Morocco.

The Islamic Conference of Ministers of Higher Education and Scientific Research held its Extraordinary Session, under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, in Riyadh-Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 4-5 October 2011 with the participation of OIC Ministers of Higher Education, observer states, OIC institutions, and higher education specialists from the OIC Member States. Mr. Huseyin Hakan Eryetli, Director of Publications and IT Department, represented the Centre thereat.

Eng. Hüseyin Hakan Eryetli, Director of IT and Publications of SESRIC visited the e-Government Program (YESSER) of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and had a meeting with Mr. Ali S. AlSoma, Director General of the e-Government Program (YESSER) on 3 October 2011 in Riyadh, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The 6th OIC Ministerial Conference on Food Security and Agricultural Development was held in Istanbul, Republic of Turkey on 03–06 October 2011, on the theme “Agricultural Development and Access to Food and Nutrition in OIC Countries”. The Conference was hosted by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock of the Republic of Turkey. The objectives of the Conference included, among others, the evaluation of the outcomes of a number of recent actions, programmes and activities undertaken by the OIC and some Member Countries with a view to assisting the Member Countries in their efforts to alleviate hunger and foster agricultural development and food security.

Upon the request of H.E. Mohanna A. Al Mohanna, Director General of the Central Department of Statistics and Information (CDSI) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, SESRIC conducted an expert mission for the period of 1 – 5 October 2011 in Riyadh. Eng. Huseyin Hakan Eryetli, Director of IT and Publication, has been sent to this mission by the Centre.

The Director General of the Centre, Dr. Savas Alpay, participated in a Brainstorming Session and two Panel Discussions on various health-related issues of concern to the OIC Member States during the 3rd Islamic Conference of Health Ministers (ICHM), which was held in Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan, during the period 29 September – 1 October 2011.

The Third Islamic Conference of Health Ministers (ICHM) was held in Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan on 29 September - 1 October 2011, on the theme of “Health, Wellbeing and Equality”. Delegates from 36 OIC Member States and various regional and international organizations participated in the Conference.

Fourth Meeting of the Steering Committee of the Islamic Conference of Health Ministers was convened in two parts, Part 1 on 28 September 2011 and Part 2 on 01 October 2011 in Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan. The objective of Part 1 of the Fourth Meeting of Steering Committee was to review the preparation of the Third Islamic Conference of Health Ministers held in in Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan on 29 September - 01 October 2011. The objective of the Part 2 of the Fourth Meeting of the Steering Committee were to review the implementation of the decisions of the Third Meeting of the Steering Committee and discuss the follow up actions to implement the decisiosns and resolutions adopted by the Third Islamic Conference of Health Ministers.

Bank Negara Malaysia, in support of the Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC) initiative, organized a Seminar on Islamic Finance on 28-29 September 2011 in Istanbul, Turkey. The Seminar was well attended by over 180 delegates, comprising senior business and financial leaders from Turkey and Malaysia. Interests were also shown from financial and business delegates from the Asian, European and Middle East regions. The Centre was represented by Mr. Nadi Serhan Aydın, Researcher at the Centre.

The Centre organised a training course on “Quality Improvement: Seed Quality and Preparation” at the Kazakh Research Institute for Cotton Growing on 28-30 September 2011. The Course was provided by Mr. Koray Şimşek, an expert from the Nazilli Cotton Research Institute of Turkey, and was attended by 15 staff members of the Kazakh Research Institute for Cotton Growing.

5th Meeting of the OIC Member States' Stock Exchanges Forum was held on 17-18 September 2011 in Istanbul, Turkey. The meeting was hosted by the Istanbul Stock Exchange. Representatives from 23 stock exchanges and 6 central depositories, registry and clearing institutions of the OIC member states, and 14 related organizations, including SESRIC and IDB, attended the meeting. The Centre was represented at the Forum by Mr. Nadi Serhan Aydın, Researcher at the Centre.