A SESRIC delegation composed of Eng. Huseyin Hakan Eryetli, Director of IT and Publication Department and Mr. Mehmet Fatih Serenli, Director of Training and Technical Cooperation Department was received by H.E. Sheikh Hamad bin Jabor bin Jassim Al Thani, President of the QSA, and high level officials from the Qatar Statistics Authority (QSA) in Doha, Qatar on 19 May 2010.

A SESRIC delegation comprised of Eng. Huseyin Hakan Eryetli, Director of IT and Publication Department and Mr. Mehmet Fatih Serenli, Director of Training and Technical Cooperation Department visited Continuing Education Office of Qatar University (QU) in Doha on May 20th, 2010. The SESRIC delegation was accompanied by Mr. Khalid Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, Head of Human Resources at Qatar Statistics Authority (QSA) and welcomed by Dr. Tajalsir Ibrahim Kardaman, Director of Continuing Education Office at QU.

An International Scientific Symposium entitled “ICT Impact on Municipal Service Development: Towards E-Government” was co-organised by the Organisation of Islamic Capitals and Cities (OICC) and the Doha Municipality in Doha, Qatar on 18-20 May 2010. An exhibition on “ICT and Achievements of Islamic Capitals and Cities” was held in parallel to the symposium. SESRIC was represented thereat by Eng. Hüseyin Hakan Eryetli, Director of IT and Publication Department and Mr. Mehmet Fatih Serenli, Director of Training and Technical Cooperation Department.

The 37th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) (Session of Shared Vision of a More Secure and Prosperous Islamic World) was held in Dushanbe, Republic of Tajikistan from 4 to 6 Jamadul Thani 1431 H (18th -20th May 2010). A wide range of issues of interest to the Member States were discussed during the Meeting and resolutions were adopted by the Council concerning the Palestinian Cause and the Middle East; Other issues such as; Political Affairs; Ten-Year Programme of Action; Statutory, Organic and General Matters; Legal Affairs; Conditions of Muslim Minorities and Communities in non-OIC Member States; Information Affairs; Administrative and Financial and Humanitarian Affairs were also discussed during the Council.

The Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) organised the Second Meeting of the Monitoring and Advisory Committee (MAC) of the Vocational Education and Training Programme for OIC Member Countries (OIC-VET) in Antalya, Republic of Turkey, on 11-12 May 2010, on the sideline of the 26th Meeting of the Follow-up Committee of the COMCEC. The main purpose of the Meeting, which was chaired by Mr. Mehmet Fatih Serenli; Director of Training and Technical Cooperation Department at SESRIC, was to review the implementation process of the OIC-VET Programme since the First Meeting of the MAC. The Meeting was attended by the delegations of the National Focal Points (NFPs) of the OIC Member States, namely Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Indonesia, Iran, Morocco, Qatar, Senegal, Turkey and Yemen. Also present were representatives of the OIC General Secretariat and the concerned OIC Institutions, namely COMCEC, IDB, ICCI, ISESCO, OISA, and SESRIC.

The 26th Meeting of the Follow-up Committee of the COMCEC was held on 10-12 May 2010 in Antalya, Turkey, with the participation of 11 OIC Member Countries of the Committee (Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Palestine, Senegal, Kuwait, Iran, Cameroon, Pakistan, Qatar, Indonesia and Sierra Leone). The OIC General Secretariat and the following subsidiary, affiliated and specialised organs; namely, SESRIC, ICDT, IDB, ICCI, ITFC, and OISA; attended the Meeting. Representatives of ECO and FAO have also attended the meeting. The Centre was represented at the meeting by its Director General; Mr. Nabil Dabour, Director of Research Department; Mr. Mehmet Fatih Serenli, Director of Training and Technical Cooperation Department; Mr. Nader Abdulhamid, Researcher and Mr. Murat Ilkin, Researcher.

The Second Meeting of the Development Cooperation Institutions (DCIs) of the OIC Member Countries was organised jointly by SESRIC, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) and the OIC General Secretariat and held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on 3-4 May 2010. The Meeting was attended by 22 representatives of DCIs of 9 OIC Member Countries; namely Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Iran, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. It was also attended by representatives of the OIC General Secretariat, IDB, Arab Monetary Fund and SESRIC.

The Ministry of Higher Education of Saudi Arabia hosted the Technical Meeting of Experts on the Ranking of Universities in Islamic World on 24-25 April 2010 in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Minister of Economy and Planning of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, H.E. Dr Khalid bin Muhammad Al-Qusaibi, received the Director General of SESRIC, H.E. Dr. Savas Alpay, at his office in Riyadh on Wednsday, 31 March 2010. During the meeting, Dr. Alpay briefed the Minister on various recent activities and initiatives of SESRIC in its three mandate areas of socio-economic research, statistics and training.

The 33rd Session of the Islamic Commission for Economic, Cultural and Social Affairs (ICECS) was held at the headquarters of the OIC General Secretariat in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on March 29th -31st, 2010 in preparation for the 37th Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers due to take place in Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan, in May 2010. The Centre was represented by Dr. Savaş Alpay, Director General, Mr. Nabil Dabour, Director of Research Department, Mr. Mehmet Fatih Serenli, Director of Training and Technical Cooperation Department.

The delegates of the National Statistical Organization of Indonesia, Budan Pusat Statistik (BPS), who participated “The Meeting of National Statistical Organization of the OIC Member Countries” organized by SESRIC and IDB in İstanbul on 22-23 March 2010, visited the Headquarters of SESRIC in Ankara on 26 March 2010. The delegation of BPS was headed by Mr. Rusman Heriawan, Chief Statistician.

The Second Coordination Committee Meeting on the implementation of the “Framework for Development and Cooperation in the Domain of Tourism between the OIC Member States” was held in Antalya, Republic of Turkey, on 24-25 March 2010. The Meeting was attended by the representatives of the following Members of the Committee: Azerbaijan, Cameroon, Egypt, Iran, Malaysia, Senegal, Syria and Turkey. The representatives of the OIC General Secretariat and those of the following OIC institutions also attended the Meeting: SESRIC, IRCICA, ICDT, IUT, ISESCO, ICCI and COMCEC Coordination Office (CCO). Mr. Nabil Dabour, Director of Research Department represented SESRIC at the Meeting.

In the last decade, there has been proliferation of national, regional and international initiatives, each containing a set of goals and targets that must be monitored for progress and performance. In addition to these initiatives, our member countries are being challenged by new development issues such as financial and economic crisis, climate change, food security, etc. which are affecting all aspects of our lives. It is crucial to have access to timely, accurate, consistent and reliable data to undertake studies and identify the most affected countries by these issues and initiatives with the view to enable the development institutions intending to respond to the needs of these countries. To this end, given that the National Statistical Organizations (NSOs) of the Member Countries of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) -who are at different levels of development and face various constraints and problems- are the primary sources of data, the effective cooperation among them will be vital.

Director General of SESRIC received Mr. Michael Gaudé, Representative of the UNHCR Turkish Office, and Mr. Karim Atassi, Deputy Representative in his office on 9 March 2010. The Director General of SESRIC, Dr. Savaş Alpay, expressed his thanks and welcome to his guests, and articulated his appreciation with the role UNHCR is playing in providing assistance to millions of in dire conditions around the world.

SESRIC participated in the ‘Meeting of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts (IGGE) on the Final Review on the Proposed Rules of Joint-Staff Pension Scheme of the OIC Staff Members’ which was held on 6-7 March 2010 at the OIC Headquarters in Jeddah.

Upon the request of H.E. Mohanna 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 4 – 16 March 2010. Eng. Huseyin Hakan Eryetli, Acting Director of IT and Publication and expert on IT Projects and eGovernment has been sent to this mission.

The Centre organised a training course on “Quality in Statistics & Applications of New Data Collection Methods” at the State Committee on Statistics of Tajikistan, on March 1-3, 2010. The course was provided by Mr. Inan Inanli, expert from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) and was attended by 20 staff members of the State Committee on Statistics of Tajikistan.

Dr. Savaş Alpay, Director General of the SESRIC visited the Headquarters of the United Nations Development Programme, where he met Ms. Amat Al Alim Alsoswa, UNDP Assistant Administrator and Regional Director of the Bureau for Arab States, on 25 February 2010. Ms. Amat Al Alim Alsoswa welcomed and thanked Dr. Alpay for his kind visit.

The 2nd Meeting of the NSOs of the OIC Member Countries and the SESRIC was held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA on 25 February 2010 at 3.00 – 5.00 pm as a side event of the 41st Session of the United Nations Statistical Commission.

The 41st Session of the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) was held on February 23-26, 2010 in New York. The representatives of National Statistical Offices (NSOs) of UN Member States, observer countries and international organizations participated in the Session. SESRIC was represented thereat by Dr. Savaş Alpay, Director General, and Mrs.Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk, Researcher.