SESRIC organised a further technical mission on ‘Integration of Tobacco Questions for Surveys (TQS) – Sampling Methods’ on 10-13 November 2015 in Baku with the participation of eight officials of State Statistical Committee (SSC) of the Republic of Azerbaijan in collaboration with the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) under the scope of the project initiated by SESRIC on the ‘Integration of TQS into Ongoing National Surveys in Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Member States’. The technical mission conducted by Mr. Yılmaz Erşahin, Expert at Sampling and Analysis Techniques Department of TurkStat.

SESRIC participated in the Arab Region Meeting on the Implementation of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction which was held on 8-10 November 2015 in Cairo, Egypt. The objective of the meeting was to elaborate a regional road map for the implementation of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 in the Arab Region. The meeting was able to achieve the following:

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the training course on ‘Population and Housing Censuses; Registers of Population; Dwellings and Buildings’ at the Directorate of Statistics under the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation of Somalia on 08-13 November 2015, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The course was conducted by Mr. Abdellaziz Ben Hadj Abdullatif, Expert at African Development Bank (ADB) with participation of relevant officials.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between SESRIC and The Association of Education for the Future (GED) on 6 November 2015, in Ankara. The memorandum aims to allow the institutions to collaborate in the field of education specifically on conducting joint projects, vocational education, innovation and sharing know-how and best practices.

SESRIC organised a training course on “Investor and Financial Community Awareness” at the Qatar Financial Markets Authority on 04-05 November 2015, within the framework of OIC Capacity Building Programme for Stock Exchanges (OIC-SEP). The Course was provided by the Mr. Hüseyin Evren Arık, Senior Specialist of Borsa İstanbul, Republic of Turkey, with the participation of relevant members of the Qatar Financial Markets Authority.

During 3-4 November 2015 at the OIC’s General Secretariat in Jeddah an “Intergovernmental Expert Group” meeting convened with an aim to assess the OIC Action Plan for the Advancement of Women (OPAAW) and to review its implementation.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised the training course on “Business Registers” at the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS) of Qatar on 3-5 November 2015. The course was conducted by Ms. Siti Haslinda Mohd Din, Director of Methodology & Research Division at Department of Statistics (DOS) of Malaysia, with the participation of 24 officials of the MDPS of Qatar.

SESRIC has launched the OIC Labour Market Report 2015 during the 3rd Islamic Conference of Labour Ministers, which was held in Jakarta, Indonesia during 28-30 October. This report analyses the current state of labour market in OIC countries and addresses some of the key related issues which still constitute major challenges for them in this important area. These include skills development and employability, job creation and youth employment, social protection and safety, and participation and migration. The report is organized in six sections:

The General Guidelines on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) was endorsed by the Third Islamic Conference of Labour Ministers (ICLM) held in Jakarta, Indonesia on 28-30 October 2015. The guideline document was originally drafted by the members of the OIC Occupational Safety and Health Network (OIC OSHNET) following a workshop on “Occupational Safety and Health Regulations and Standards” that was jointly organised with the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC), Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security of Turkey in Istanbul, Turkey on 4 May 2014.

The 3^rd Session of the Islamic Conference of Labour Ministers (ICLM) was held in Jakarta, Republic of Indonesia during 28-30 October 2015 under the theme “Mainstreaming Youth Employment and Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) in OIC Member States”. The Senior Officials Meeting, which preceded the Ministerial Conference, was held on 28-29 October with the participation of Senior Officials from the Ministries of labour of 35 member countries. The Meeting was also attended by representatives of the OIC General Secretariat and the relevant OIC and international institutions. SESRIC was represented by Amb. Musa Kulaklıkaya, Director General of SESRIC, and Dr. Kenan Bağcı, Senior Researcher.

The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) organized the Second Meeting of the Inter-agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (IAEG-SDGs) on 26-28 October 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand. The meeting was hosted by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). Dr. Atilla Karaman, Senior Researcher, Statistics and Information Department, represented the Centre thereat.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the training course on ‘Tourism Statistics’ at the Department of Statistics (DoS) of Malaysia on 26-28 October 2015, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The course was conducted by Mr. Akhmad Tantowi, Expert at BPS-Statistics Indonesia with participation of relevant officials of DoS.

The Second Meeting of the Technical Committee of the Arab Statistics Initiative “ArabStat” was organized by the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) on 21-22 October 2015 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates with the participation of the representatives of National Statistical Offices (NSOs), Central Banks (CBs) and Ministries of Finance (MoFs) of Arab states, and international organizations including International Monetary Fund (IMF), Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Statistical Center for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC- Stat), Statistical Economic and Social Research and Training Center for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA). Dr. Atilla Karaman, Senior Researcher, Statistics and Information Department, represented the Centre thereat.

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) organized the International Conference on Official Statistics, on 20-22 October 2015 in Ramallah, Palestine with the sponsorship of SESRIC.

HE Ambassador Musa Kulaklıkaya, Director General of Statistical, Economic, Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), addressed the World Statistics Day Forum on 20 October 2015 in Doha, Qatar. Organized by the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS), the Forum was graced by HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al- Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, and HE Dr. Saleh Mohamed Al-Nabit, Minister of Development Planning and Statistics of the State of Qatar.

The Elderly Workshop was co-organised by Istanbul University, Galatasaray University, Istanbul Şehir University and the Ministry of Family and Social Policies on 20-21 October 2015 in Istanbul, Turkey. The Elderly Workshop aims at bringing together academicians, governmental institutions, non-governmental organisations and private sector working in the area of elderly.

The Centre in collaboration with Turkish Employment Agency (İŞKUR) organised a study visit to Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training (MINEFOB), Cameroon on 19-23 October within the context of Labour Market Analysis in pursuance to transfer of Skill 10 Project. The study visit was conducted by Mr. Mustafa Özen, Employment Expert and Mr. Yasin Çakmak, Assistant Employment Expert from the Turkish Employment Agency. There have been working sessions with National Employment Fund, Chamber of Commerce, National Institute of Statistic, The Interpatronal Grouping of Cameroon (GICAM) and the other related partners of the project. Yaoundé and Douala, the two industrial cities where the project will be executed were also visited for the relevant assessment to be made in the next phases.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the technical mission on ‘Quarterly National Accounts: Module 1’ at the Central Statistics Organization (CSO) on 17-28 October 2015, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The course was conducted by Mr. Kourosh Javadi Pashaki, Expert at the Statistical Centre of Iran of the Islamic Republic of Iran with participation of relevant officials of CSO.

Turkey hosted the 8^th Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) Summit in Istanbul during 14-16 October 2015 on the theme of “Strengthening Partnerships: Migration and Human Mobility for Sustainable Development.” The Forum, which has been chaired by Turkey since 1 July 2014, brought together around 600 delegates from 150 countries and 30 international organizations, high level officials of international organizations, particularly UN Deputy Secretary-General, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, UN Alliance of Civilizations High Representative, and UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for International Migration, EU Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship as well as representatives of civil society organizations. OIC delegation comprising Ambassador Mouhamadou Doudou Lo, Director General of the Department of the Economic Affairs in OIC General Secretariat, Dr. Kenan Bağcı, Senior Researcher at SESRIC, and Ms. Esma Demirtaş, Researcher at SESRIC attended the meeting. Ambassodor Musa Kulaklıkaya, Director General of SESRIC, also attended the opening session of the Forum.

The Statistical, Economic, Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) participated in the Peer Review (PR) Information Meeting organized by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) at its Headquarters in Ankara, Turkey on 13 October 2015. The Centre was represented by Mrs. Zehra Zumrut Selcuk, Director of Statistics and Information Department, and Dr. Atilla Karaman, Senior Researcher, Statistics and Information Department.