Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) organised, in collaboration with the National Development Planning Agency of the Republic of Indonesia (BAPPENAS), a training course on “Poverty Alleviation Strategies” within the framework of the OIC Poverty Alleviation Programme (OIC-PAP) on 15-16 May 2013 in Ankara, Turkey. The course was provided by Dr Maliki, Deputy Director of Poverty Alleviation Programme Department and was attended by several experts from the Ministry of Family and Social Policies of Republic of Turkey.

Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) organised, in collaboration with the Competition Authority of the Republic of Turkey, a training course on “Competition Law and Policy” within the framework of the OIC Capacity Building Programme for Competition Authorities (OIC-CA-CaB) on 15-17 May 2013 in Tirana, Albania. The course was provided by Mr. Ümit Nevruz Özdemir, Expert on Competition, and Mr. Ali Arıöz, Chief Competition Expert, and was attended by several experts from the Albanian Competition Authority.

The 29th Meeting of the Follow-up Committee of the COMCEC was held on 14-15 May 2013 in Ankara, Turkey, with the participation of the member countries of the Committee (Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Palestine, Egypt, Kuwait, Iran, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Qatar, Mali and Cameroon). Representatives of Iraq also attended the meeting as observers. The OIC General Secretariat and the following subsidiary, affiliated and specialised organs (SESRIC, ICDT, IDB, ICCIA, IUT, OISA and SMIIC) attended the Meeting.

The First Meeting of the Forum of Euro-Mediterranean Statisticians was organised by the Eurostat on 13-14 May 2013 in Luxembourg with the participation of 35 representatives from eight OIC Member Countries including Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, and Tunisia, and from relevant national statistical offices of European Union (EU) countries and EU institutions. Mr. Atilla Karaman, Acting Director of Statistics and Information Department, represented the Centre thereat.

SESRIC and Institute for Scientific Research on Economic Reforms (ISRER) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop an institutional collaboration in the area of scientific research and training on 09 May 2013 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Global Alcohol Policy Symposium was held on 26-27 April 2013 in Istanbul, Republic of Turkey. The symposium was organized by the Turkish Green Crescent Society and the World Health Organization (WHO) with the aim of raising awareness about the dangers of alcohol consumption for individuals and the society. The symposium served as a platform for sharing best practices in alcohol policy. SESRIC was represented by Ms. Fatma Nur Zengin, Programme Coordinator, at the symposium.

Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) has organised, in collaboration with the Competition Authority of the Republic of Turkey, a training course on “Competition Law and Policy” within the framework of the OIC Capacity Building Programme for Competition Authorities (OIC-CA-CaB) on 24-26 April 2013 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The course was provided by Mrs Şerife Demet Kaya, Expert on Competition, and Mrs Ebru Öztürk, Chief Competition Expert, and was attended by several experts from the Indonesia Competition Commission.

Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) organised, in collaboration with the Aegean International Federation of Health (ESAFED), a training course on “Hospital and Health Care Facilities Management and Administration” within the framework of the OIC-IbnSina Programme for Health Capacity Building (IbnSina-HCaB) on 23 April 2013 – 02 May 2013 in Izmir, Republic of Turkey. This education programme, organised for the general managers of several hospitals in Yemen ended with a certificate ceremony with the participation of Prof. Savaş Alpay, Director General of SESRIC and Dr. Ali Iravul, Member of the Board of ESAFED and Coordinator of the Project for Yemen.

The Sixth Meeting of the OIC Steering Committee on Health was hosted by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia on 23 – 24 April 2013 at Jakarta. The meeting, inter alia, discussed the implementation of the decisions and resolutions adopted by the Islamic Conferences of Health Ministers, draft OIC Strategic Health Programme of Action 2014 – 2023, preparation of implementation plan for OIC-SHPA, promoting self-reliance in production of medicine and vaccines and the preparations for the 4th Islamic Conference of Health Ministers to be hosted by the Republic of Indonesia in October 2013.

The 2nd Session of the Islamic Conference of Labour Ministers (ICLM) was held in Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan during the period 23-26 April 2013 under the theme “Decent Work for sustainable Social Welfare”. The Senior Officials Meeting, which preceded the Ministerial Conference, was held on 23-24 April with the participation of Senior Officials from the Ministries of labour of 36 member countries. The Meeting was also attended by representatives of the OIC General Secretariat and the relevant OIC and regional and international institutions.

Delegation from Egyptian Banking Institute, Central Bank of Egypt visited Mr. Hüseyin Hakan Eryetli, Director of Training & Technical Cooperation Department at SESRIC headquartes, Ankara, Turkey on 22 April 2013. The delegation from Egyptian Banking Institute, Central Bank of Egypt consisted of Dr. Mona El Baradei, Executive Director, Zeinab Abdel Razek, Head International Cooperation&Donor Projects Unit, and Hend Ebeid, Director Banking and Finance Programs Department.

Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) in cooperation with the National Organisation for Civil Registration of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Islamic Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), organised the First Meeting of the Heads and Seniors of National Organisations for Civil Registration (NOCR) of OIC Member States on 15-17 April 2013 in Tehran, Iran. The meeting was attended by delegations of OIC Member Countries namely, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Mozambique, Niger, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Qatar, Turkey and United Arab Emirates. Eng. Huseyin Hakan Eryetli, Director of Training and Technical Cooperation; and Mr Efe Kerem Aydin, Programme Coordinator, represented the Centre thereat.

The Caspian International Aqua Technologies and Exhibition and Forum was held on 11-13 April 2013 in Baku, Azerbaijan under the hospitality of Azarsu - an organization in charge of state policy and strategy in the field of water supply, drinking water supply and sanitation services to consumers in a centralized manner. The event was attended by the President of Azerbaijan H.E. Mr. Ilham Aliyev, the Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan H.E. Mr. Abid Sharifov, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan H.E. Mr. Huseyngulu Bagirov, Minister of Forestry and Water Affairs of Turkey H.E. Prof. Veysel Eroglu and relevant international institutions, including Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and International Water Association (IWA), as well as over 200 specialists and 50 professors from different countries. Dr. Umut Unal, Researcher at SESRIC, represented the Centre thereat.

The Third Session of the Statistical Commission of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC-StatCom) was co-organised by the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) on 10-12 April 2013 in Ankara, Turkey.

SESRIC and Southeast International Health Federation (GUSAF) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop an institutional collaboration for Ibn-i Sina Health Capacity Building Programme on 3 April 2013 at the new headquarters of SESRIC.

The First Regional Training Workshop on Tobacco Control and Trade was held at the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office on 19-21 March 2013 in Cairo, Egypt. The workshop was attended by the related coordinators both from Ministry of Health and Ministry of Trade of Tunisia, Iran, Morocco, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Egypt, Djibouti and Sudan. Eastern Mediterranean Region of the Framework Convention Alliance (FCA) , Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH), The Union Middle East Regional Center , League of Arab States and SESRIC also attended as observers at the workshop.

SESRIC, in collaboration with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and Ministry of Restructuring and Rehabilitation of Floods Zones in Senegal, organized a training workshop on Flood Risk Management in Dakar, Senegal during 18-19 March 2013. The aim of the workshop was to facilitate the transfer of knowledge, experience and best practices of some member countries and international organizations in the field of flood risk management as well as water resources management.

A group of four master trainers from different vocational schools of the Republic of GUINEA received training at the Centre for Art and Vocational Training Courses of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İSMEK) under SESRIC’s İSMEK Master Trainer Programme (İMTP) on 10-17 March 2013 in Istanbul, Turkey.

In accordance with the Resolutions of the Second Session of the OIC-StatCom, the members of the OIC-StatCom called for an Expert Group Meeting (EGM) to define the structure of a comprehensive profile that will include all the relevant phases of censuses and to compile the different country experiences and practices from OIC Member Countries.

Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) organised, in collaboration with Arab Federation of Exchanges (AFE), a training course on “Islamic Financial Instruments” within the framework of the OIC Capacity Building Programme for Stock Exchanges (OIC-SEP) on 5-6 March 2013 in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. The course was provided by Mr. Agung Bayu Purwoko, Manager in Department of Monetary Operations at Bank Indonesia, and was attended by experts from member institutions of the Arab Federation of Exchanges.