In accordance with its 2016 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised the Study Visit on ‘Agricultural Censuses and Registers’ for the benefit of the Libyan Bureau of Statistics and Census (BSC) on 17-20 October 2016. The study visit was hosted by the Department of Statistics of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

In accordance with its 2016 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised the Study Visit on ‘Living Conditions and Poverty Statistics’ for the benefit of the Libyan Bureau of Statistics and Census (BSC) on 17-20 October 2016. The study visit was hosted by the Department of Statistics of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

The Arab industrial Development and Mining Organization (AIDMO) in collaboration with the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) and National Center for Statistics and Information (NCSI) of the Sultanate Oman organised the Forum for Industrial Information and Statistics in the Arab Countries (FIISAC) in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman on 17-19 October 2016. Inaugurated at the Majlis Oman by H.E. Sultan bin Salim Al Habsi, Secretary-General, Supreme Council for Planning of the Sultanate of Oman, the Forum was attended by 80 participants from the Arab countries.

SESRIC and Confederation of Public Servants Trade Unions (MEMUR-SEN) jointly organised an international symposium on “Trade Unionism in the Islamic World” in Istanbul, Turkey on 13-14 October 2016.

SESRIC organised, in collaboration with the Centre for Islamic Banking, Finance and Management (CIBFM) of Monetary Authority of Brunei Darussalam (AMBD), and the Association of National Development Finance Institutions in Member Countries of the Islamic Development Bank (ADFIMI) the training workshop on “Corporate Governance and Internal Audit” in Brunei Darussalam on 11-13 October 2016.

The Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics of the State of Qatar in collaboration with the Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century (PARIS21) and the Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf (GCC-Stat) organised the Arab Forum on Building Statistical Capacity for a Data Revolution on 10-11 October 2016 in Doha, State of Qatar. Inaugurated by HE Dr. Saleh al-Nabit, Minister of Development Planning and Statistics of the State of Qatar, the Forum was attended by more than 150 representatives from international and regional institutions national statistical offices (NSOs), academia, research institutes and business community.

In accordance with its 2016 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC will organise the Training Course on 'Information Society Statistics' at National Statistical Office (ONS) of Mauritania on 10-13 October 2016.

The Stakeholders Meeting on SESRIC Project titled ‘Developing Islamic Financial Industry Database of OIC Member Countries’ was organised by SESRIC in collaboration with the World Bank Global Islamic Finance Development Center on 9 October 2016 in the margins of the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington DC, USA. High level representatives of the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), International Monetary Fund (IMF), Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI) and World Bank Global Islamic Finance Development Center participated in the meeting. Mr. Nabil Dabour, Assistant Director General of SESRIC, Mrs. Zehra Zumrut Selcuk, Director of Statistics and Information Department and Dr. Nihat Gumus, Project Consultant represented the Centre thereat.

The Third Session of the Islamic Conference of Youth and Sports Ministers (ICYSM) was held on 5-7 October 2016 in Istanbul, Republic of Turkey on the theme of “Empowerment of Youth for Peace, Solidarity and Development”. The Conference provided a rich opportunity to debate the various issues and challenges pertaining to youth empowerment, participation in peace making and building solidarity, along with youth contribution to sustainable development. The Conference also considered how sport could be a vehicle for widening the horizon of young people and giving them the opportunity to meet, connect and exchange ideas within the scope, frame and objectives set out in the “OIC Strategic Plan of Action 2025”. During the Conference, SESRIC made a presentation on the State of Youth in OIC Member Countries.

SESRIC organised a Training Course on “Using Molecular Techniques for Cotton Breeding” within the framework of the OIC Cotton Training Programme (OIC-CTP) in Khartoum, Sudan on 04-05 October 2016. The course was provided by Prof. Dr. Tayyab Husanain and Prof. Dr. Idrees Ahmad Nasir, from Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology, University of the Punjab, Pakistan. The target group of this training course were experts from University of Khartoum, University of Bahri, Omdurman Islamic University, Al Zaiem Alazhari University, University of Bakht Al-Ruda Al-Dewaym, Agricultural Research Corporation (ARC) Sudan and National Referral Center of Sudan.

Considering the importance of Sustainable Development Goals and their implementation, SESRIC organised a Special Session on this subject with the theme of “Intra-OIC cooperation for the implementation of SDGs in OIC Member Countries” in its Headquarter in Ankara, Turkey on 03 October 2016.

SESRIC organised in coordination with the OIC General Secretariat a Workshop on “The Role of Women in the Development Of OIC Member States” in Ankara, Turkey on 03-04 October 2016, where senior officials from related ministries and OIC Institutions discussed the issues related to the empowerment of women to enable them efficient participation in the development of Muslim Societies.

The Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Labour Organization (ILO) to initiate and facilitate collaboration and cooperation between two institutions in matters of common interest and to establish the necessary arrangements for implementation by providing an operational framework. The MoU was signed by H.E. Ambassador Musa Kulaklıkaya, Director General of SESRIC, and Rafael Diez de Medina, Director of Department Statistics of ILO in Paris, France on 29 September 2016.

The Twenty Eighth Session of the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA), a forum with 45 members that promotes inter-agency coordination and cooperation on statistical programmes and consistency in statistical practices and development, was held at OECD in Paris, France on 29 - 30 September 2016. H.E. Amb. Musa KULAKLIKAYA, Director General, and Mrs. Zehra Zümrüt SELÇUK, Director of Statistics and Information Department represented the Centre thereat.

During the 9^th Islamic Conference of Tourism Ministers (ICTM), held in Niamey, Republic of Niger on 21-23 December 2015 a Resolution was adopted on Tourism Development among the OIC Member States, under which the ICTM decided to establish a Working Group on Islamic Tourism, which comprises of the Republic of Indonesia (Coordinator), People’s Republic of Bangladesh, SESRIC, SMIIC and IUT.

The Second Meeting of the OIC Public Employment Services Network was held in Ankara on 27-28 September. The main objective of the meeting was to review the progress achieved since the first meeting and to explore innovative cooperation opportunities among respective authorities in member countries.

SESRIC organised a reception at its Headquarters in Ankara, Turkey on 27^th September 2016 on the occasion of the 47^th anniversary of the establishment of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The reception has been attended by Ambassadors of the OIC Member Countries and high-level officials from both national and international institutions in Ankara.

In accordance with its 2016 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised the Training Course on 'Science, Technology, and Innovation Statistics' at the State Statistical Committee (SSC) of the Republic of Azerbaijan on 27-28 September 2016.

In accordance with its 2016 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised the Study Visit on ‘Health Statistics’ at the National Institute of Statistics (INS) of the Republic of Tunisia on 26-29 September 2016.

In accordance with its 2016 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC organised the Technical Mission on 'Transport Statistics' to the Committee on Statistics of the Ministry of National Economics of the Republic of Kazakhstan on 26-30 September 2016.