The second meeting of OIC Occupational Safety and Health Network (OIC-OSHNET) has successfully been organized by SESRIC, in collaboration with the General Directorate of Occupational Health and Safety (DGOHS) operating under the Ministry of Labour and Social Security of the Republic of Turkey (MoLSS), on 4-6 March 2013, in Ankara, Turkey.

SESRIC, in its capacity as the Secretariat of OIC-StatCom, organised the Fifth Meeting of the Delegates of the National Statistical Offices (NSOs) of the OIC Member Countries on 28 February 2013 in New York, United States of America as a side event in the margins of the 44th Session of the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC). The delegates of the NSOs of the OIC Member Countries attended the meeting that aimed to get their comments and feedback on the tentative agenda of the Third Session of the OIC Statistical Commission.

In the context of the follow-up of the implementation of the “Executive Programme of the Road-Map for Achieving Intra-OIC Trade Targets” adopted by the previous 4th meeting of this Group, the Islamic Centre for Development of Trade (ICDT) and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), member of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group organised, under the auspices of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and New Technologies of the Kingdom of Morocco, the 5th Meeting of the OIC Consultative Group on Enhancing Intra-OIC Trade in Casablanca on 27-28 February 2013.

The Promoting Self Reliance in Production of Medicines and Vaccines-Meeting of Vaccine Manufacturers was held on 27-28 February 2013 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates with the collaboration of the OIC General Secretariat and the Science, Technology and Innovation Organization (STIO). The meeting was attended by the OIC General Secretariat and relevant OIC institutions, including Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), Islamic Development Bank (IDB), OIC Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH), STIO, as well as the representatives of a select group of medicine and vaccine manufacturers from OIC Member States.

In collaboration with UNCTAD and SESRIC, the Islamic Development Bank (Cooperation and Integration Department) co-organized an intensive training course on the Multilateral Trading System and Accession to the WTO for officials from the Republic of Iraq.

The Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on Innovation for Economic Development in IDB Member Countries was held on 18-19 February 2013 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Mr. Atilla Karaman, Senior Researcher, represented the Centre thereat.

SESRIC organized an Experts Advisory Group Meeting (EAGM) on 18-19 Febraury 2013 at its Headquarters in Ankara to review the draft OIC-SHPA 2013-2022 document. SESRIC prepared this document in accordance with the decision of the 2nd Islamic Conference of Health Ministers (Tehran, March 2009) and upon a request by the OIC Steering Committee on Health. The EAGM was attended by the delegates from 15 OIC member countries and eight OIC and international institutions.

A group of eight master trainers from different vocational schools of the Arab Republic of Egypt 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 17-25 February 2013 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), a subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and General Directorate of Turkish Post (PTT) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 13 February 2013 in Ankara, Republic of Turkey to boost joint cooperation and exchange of expertise in the field of postal communications and telecommunication. MoU was signed by Prof. Savas Alpay, Director General of SESRIC, and Mr. Osman Tural, Director General of Turkish Post (PTT) with the key objective of strengthening existing cooperation relations in various postal services related fields in order to develop and upgrade the quality of postal services among OIC Member Countries.

The Centre hosted seminars titled “Do Fixed Exchange Rates Cause More Trade?” and “When Do Currency Unions Increase Trade?” on 12 February 2013 in its headquarters. The seminar was delivered by Mr. Amr Sadek Hosny, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, USA.

The Centre hosted a seminar titled “Do Natural Resources Lower the Incentive to Invest in Human Capital? A Theoretical and Empirical Approach” on 11 February 2013 in its headquarters. The seminar was delivered by Mr. Salim Mahmoud Araji, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, USA.

Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) organised training on “Water Resources Management” at the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Azerbaijan, on 6-7 February 2013. The course was provided by Ms. Saliha Değirmencioğlu, an expert from Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, and was attended by approximately 25 participants from different organisations such as Azersu and Melioration and Water Economy Joint-Stock Companies (JSCs).

The 12th Session of the Islamic Summit Conference was held in Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt on 6-7 February 2013. Heads of States and Governments of 17 member countries attended the Summit. The other member countries were represented at the level of the Prime Ministers and/or Ministers of Foreign Affairs. The Summit aims at jointly reviewing the international situation in the political, economic and social fields and analysing the impact on the Muslim Ummah under the overall theme "The Muslim World: New Challenges & Expanding Opportunities". The Heads of Delegations of the member countries discussed and deliberated on a number of political and socio-economic issues of importance to the Muslim World. The Summit was preceded by a preparatory meeting of the Senior Officials on 2-3 February, and by a preparatory meeting of the Foreign Ministers on 4-5 February.

Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) organised, in collaboration with Aegean International Federation of Health (ESAFED) and Egypt Assiut University, a training programme on “Minimally Invasive Surgery” at the Assiut University in Assiut, Arab Republic of Egypt, on 06-10 February 2013. The course was provided by Assoc. Prof. Seyda ORS KAYA, working in Dr. Suat Seren Chest Disease and Thoracic Surgery Research and Education Hospital, Op.Dr.Kenan Can Ceylan, a headmaster of Thoracic Surgery Department at Dr. Suat Seren Chest Disease and Thoracic Surgery Research and Education Hospital, and Munevver Ulutas, Thoracic Surgery Clinical Nurse and was attended by operating surgeons of the Assiut University.

Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) organised training on “Land Management: Soil Analysis and Mapping” at Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture, on 4-6 February 2013. The course was provided by Ms Fatinah Rashid Abdulteef, an expert from Ministry of Agriculture of Iraq, and was attended by Mohamad Abou Daher, Head of Agriculture Education and Training Department of Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture, scientists, agriculturists, and officers.

SESRIC organised, in collaboration with Aegean International Federation of Health (ESAFED) and Turkish Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA), a workshop on “Current Status and Future Perspectives of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries in Somalia” on 2-4 February 2013 in Mogadishu, Federal Republic of Somalia.

The Tenth Session of the United Nations Economic and Social Council for Western Asia (ESCWA) Statistical Committee was held on 30-31 January 2013 in the Headquarters of the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) in Cairo, Egypt. The delegates of National Statistical Offices (NSO) from 11 ESCWA Countries including Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Oman, Sudan Tunisia, and Yemen and the representatives of the Arab Institute for Training and Research in Statistics (AITRS), Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), League of Arab States (LAS), Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Bahrain participated in the Session.

Prof. Savaş Alpay, Director-General of SESRIC, delivered a keynote speech at the 2nd International Conference on Islamic Economics and Economies of the OIC Countries (ICIE2013) which was held from 29 to 30 January 2013 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 2nd Conference was organized jointly by the Kulliyyah of Economics and Management Sciences at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Ministry of Finance Malaysia, and Islamic Research and Training Institute, and held on the theme Islamic Economic Solutions for OIC Countries: Theory and Policy.

Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) organised training on “Crop Cultivation: Cultivation of Arable Crops” at the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation of Republic of the Sudan, on 29-31 January 2013. The course was provided by Dr Abbas Ajeel Mohammed, an expert from Ministry of Agriculture of Iraq, and was attended by approximately 25 scientists, farmers, and officers.

Dr. Savas Alpay, Director General of SESRIC, received the delegation of Eurostat comprising of Mr. Pieter Everaers, Director of the Directorate A – Cooperation in the European Statistical System, International Cooperation, Resources; and Mr. Ferenc Gálik, Statistical Officer at the Unit A6 – Statistical Cooperation on 25 January 2013 at the SESRIC Headquarters in Ankara- Turkey. The delegation was accompanied by the officials from the Delegation of the European Commission to Turkey and Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).