Adopted in 2012, the Strategy Document of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) is the first vision document for the COMCEC for six main cooperation areas including poverty. To achieve strategic objectives defined in the COMCEC Strategy, COMCEC Coordination Office launched the COMCEC Project Cycle Management (PCM) Programme in 2013. Carried out under the support of COMCEC PCM Programme and coordinated by SESRIC, the project titled “2014-SESRIC-016 Improving Statistical Capacities of OIC Member Countries in Poverty Statistics” aims at building statistical capacity in poverty statistics and overall contributing to the National Statistical Systems (NSS) of the member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) through capacity building programs including short-term trainings.

The Centre organised a five day training course on ‘‘Poverty Reduction Through Small-scale Fisheries’’ on 23-27 August 2015 in Mogadishu, Somalia, in collaboration with the Somali Development and Reconstruction Bank (SDRB).

The Centre organised a training course on “Methods of Water Data and Information Collection (Water Statistics)” on 19-20 August 2015 at the venue of the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA), Palestine.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the training course on ‘Professional Skills for Official Statisticians: Effective Oral Communication Techniques’ at the Agency of Statistics (AoS) of the Republic of Kazakhstan on 17-19 August 2015, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The course was conducted by Mr. Sanan Hasanov, Expert at Business Management Group International (BMGI)of Azerbaijan with participation of relevant officials of AoS.

Adopted in 2012, the Strategy Document of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) is the first vision document for the COMCEC for six main cooperation areas including poverty. To achieve strategic objectives defined in the COMCEC Strategy, COMCEC Coordination Office launched the COMCEC Project Cycle Management (PCM) Programme in 2013. Carried out under the support of COMCEC PCM Programme and coordinated by SESRIC, the project titled “2014-SESRIC-016 Improving Statistical Capacities of OIC Member Countries in Poverty Statistics” aims at building statistical capacity in poverty statistics and overall contributing to the National Statistical Systems (NSS) of the member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) through capacity building programs including short-term trainings.

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 'Health Statistics' at the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) in Dhaka, People’s Republic of Bangladesh on 11-13 August 2015. The course was conducted by Mr. Gantjang Amannullah, Head of Social Statistics Division at the East Java Regional Office of BPS-Statistics Indonesia, with the participation of relevant officials of the BBS.

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 “Wholesale and Retail Trade Statistics” at the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) in Kampala on 10-12 August 2015. The course was conducted by Mr. Abdullah Yuksel, Expert at Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), with the participation of relevant officials of the UBOS.

The Centre organised a conference on cotton, namely ‘‘From Farm to Fashion’’ on 3-5 August 2015 at Izmir, Turkey in active collaboration with the Rural Business Development Center (RBDC), Oxfam Novib, Lok Sanjh Foundation (LSF) and Nazilli Cotton Research Centre.

The Centre organised, in collaboration with the Ministry of Family and Social Policies Republic of Turkey, a training course on “Regional Poverty Reduction Policies” within the framework of the OIC Poverty Alleviation Programme (OIC-PAP) on 3-4 August 2015 in Tirana, Albania. The course was provided by Mr. Nevzat Kunduracı, Family and Social Policies Expert of the Ministry of Family and Social Policies Republic of Turkey and attended by several experts from the Ministry of Urban Development of Albania.

The Statistical, Economic, Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) in collaboration with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Libya Enterprise, organised a consultative meeting to discuss and review the research conducted for the diagnostic study as part of the Libya SME Development Strategy Project on 29-30 July 2015, in Istanbul, Republic of Turkey. Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) and Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO) provided local hospitality throughout the meeting.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the training course on 'Labour Statistics' at the National Institute of Statistics, Economic and Demographic Studies (INSEED) in N'Djamena, Republic of Chad on 27-29 July 2015, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The course was conducted by Mr. Jean Rodrigue Malou, expert on Social Statistics at National Agency of Statistics and Demography (ANSD) of Senegal with participation of relevant officials of INSEED.

The Centre organised, in collaboration with the Ministry of General Affairs of the Kingdom of Morocco, a training course on "Cartels/Horizontal and Vertical Agreements" within the framework of the OIC Capacity Building Programme for Competition Authorities (OIC-CA-CaB) on 27-28 July 2015 in Cotonou, Benin. The course was provided by Mr. Bousselmame El Hassane, Director of Competition, Awards and Investment Promotion of the Ministry of General Affairs and Governance, Kingdom of Morocco, with the participation of relevant members of the Directorate of Competition and Fight against Fraud, Republic of Benin.

Phaco Training Project, which was implemented in Dakar, Senegal during the period 25 July-8 August 2015 in partnership with İNSADER (Human Health Association), a member of Ibn Sina Alliance of Health NGOs, was successfully completed.

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 'Professional Skills for Official Statisticians: Effective Oral Communication Techniques' at the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in Abuja, Federal Republic of Nigeria on 22-24 July 2015. The course was conducted by Mr. Godfrey Nabongo, Manager of Communication and Public Relations Department at the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), with the participation of relevant officials of the NBS of Nigeria.

The Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) and National Statistical Office (ONS) of Islamic Republic of Mauritania signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to facilitate collaboration and cooperation between both institutions within the framework of the project titled “Integration of the ‘Tobacco Questions for Surveys (TQS)’ into the National Surveys in Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Member States”. The MoA was signed on 10 July 2015 by HE. Amb. Musa KULAKLIKAYA, Director General of SESRIC, and Mr. Mohamed El Moctar Ould AHMAD SIDI, Director General of ONS of Islamic Republic of Mauritania.

The Centre organised a training course on ‘Financial Stability’ within the framework of the OIC Capacity Building Programme for Central Banks (OIC CB-CaB) on 7-8 July 2015 in Paramaribo, Suriname. The training course was provided by Mr. Mehmet Onay, Chief, Banking and Financial Institutions Department of the İstanbul School of Central Banking (ISCB), Republic of Turkey, with the participation of relevant members of the Central Bank of Suriname.

SESRIC and IDB jointly launched a series of seminars to gain better insight about socio-economic issues, promote a deeper understanding of key concepts, learn from pioneering practices, foster collaboration and cooperation among institutions and to harness the power of critical thinking through intriguing questions.

Ambassador Musa KULAKLIKAYA, Director General of SESRIC, was received by H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Turkey at the Presidential Complex on 01 July 2015.

Amb. Musa KULAKLIKAYA, Director General of SESRIC, hosted an Iftar dinner celebrating the holy month of Ramadan in Ankara, Turkey. Ambassadors of OIC Member Countries and representatives of International Organisations resident in Ankara attended the iftar dinner.

Ambassador Musa Kulaklıkaya, Director General of the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), paid a one-day official visit to İstanbul on 23^rd June 2015.