In line with the Thematic Areas 2 of the OIC Strategic Health Programme of Action (SHPA), SESRIC, in cooperation with the Tobacco and Alcohol Market Regulatory Authority of Turkey (TAPDK) organised a training course on “Tobacco Control” at the premises of Ministry of Health of Malaysia, on 01-02 April 2015, within the framework of the Tobacco Free OIC Initiative. The course was conducted by Mrs. Ayşe Gökalp Kırca Çelik and Mr. Cemil Mullaoğlu, Experts at the TAPDK.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan, SESRIC organised the training course on 'Quality Frameworks and Measurement of Performance of Statistical Systems and Offices' at the Agency on Statistics under President of the Republic of Tajikistan (TAJSTAT) on 1-2 April 2015, within the framework of the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme. The course was conducted by Mr. Gasim Aliyev, Expert at the State Statistical Committee (SSC) of the Republic of Azerbaijan with participation of relevant officials of TAJSTAT.

The 38^th Session of the Islamic Commission for Economic, Cultural and Social Affairs (ICECS) was held at the OIC Headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on 31 March – 02 April 2015. The Session has been attended by the representatives of the OIC member countries and those of the OIC and its subsidiary, specialized and affiliated institutions.

The Signing Ceremony, which has been organized by the COMCEC Coordination Office (CCO), for the successful projects under the second round of COMCEC Project Cycle Management (PCM) was held in Ankara on 30 March 2015. A total of 17 successful projects under the COMCEC PCM, the main implementation instrument of the new COMCEC Strategy, have been announced on 12 February 2015. These projects were submitted by 11 OIC member countries namely Azerbaijan, Cameroon, Chad, Gambia, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Qatar, Suriname, Turkey, and Uganda and two OIC institutions including SESRIC and ITFC. Amb. Musa Kulaklıkaya, Director General of SESRIC, signed the operational and financial agreements of the successful project of SESRIC entitled to receive grants within the framework of COMCEC Project Cycle Management (PCM).

In accordance with the thematic areas of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Strategic Health Programme of Action (SHPA), SESRIC, in cooperation with the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) and Ministry of Health of Turkey, organised a training course on “Emergency and Disaster Medical Services” for health experts from Lebanon at International Urla Emergency Disaster Training and Simulation Center in İzmir, Turkey, on 30 March-10 April 2015. The course was conducted by the experts of Ministry of Health of Turkey.

The Centre organised, in collaboration with the Competition Authority of the Republic of Turkey, a training course on "Competition Law Enforcement in Regulated Markets and Bid-Rigging" within the framework of the OIC Capacity Building Programme for Competition Authorities (OIC-CA-CaB) on 30-31 March 2015 in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic. The course was provided by Mr. Yalçıner Yalçın, Competition Expert, Turkish Competition Authority and be attended by several experts from the Antimonopoly Regulation Agency of Kyrgyz Republic.

Ambassador Musa Kulaklıkaya has been appointed as the new Director General of SESRIC as of 27 March 2015.

In accordance with its 2015 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of the OIC Tourism Capacity Building Programme (Tr-CaB), SESRIC organised the training course on "Tourism Marketing" at the Gambia Tourism Board, Ministry of Tourism and Culture (MTC) of The Gambia in Banjul on 25-26 March 2015.

The Fourth Session of the UNESCAP Committee on Statistics, organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), was held at the United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC) in Bangkok, Thailand on 25-27 March 2015. The Committee Session was attended by delegates from UNESCAP full and associate member countries and representatives from 18 international organisations. 10 out of the attending 33 UNESCAP member countries were also OIC member countries namely Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Maldives and Pakistan. The Centre was represented thereat by Prof. Savas Alpay, Director General, and Mr. Abdulhamit Ozturk, Researcher.

The Centre, in collaboration with the Office of Tunisian Post, organised a training course on “Parcel, Logistics, Express and Postal Financial Services” at the venue of the Mauritanian Post Company (Mauripost) on 24-25 March 2015. Mr. Hafedh Ben Saida, Manager of the Department of Parcel Postage in Tunisian Post Company, conducted the two day training course covering below topics with several question and answer sessions:

A group of eight trainees from different vocational schools of Palestine received training at the Centre for Art and Vocational Training Courses of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İSMEK) on 23-27 March 2015 in Istanbul, Turkey, on the subjects of “Sewing for Ladies Clothing”, “Glassworks and Ceramic Styling” and “Skin Care”. The five-day training programme has been hosted by İSMEK and participants were rewarded with certificates..

The Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) and Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS) of State of Qatar agreed on a partnership 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 OIC Member States”.

SESRIC participated in the 4th Meeting of the COMCEC Financial Cooperation Working Group that took place in Ankara on 19 Marh 2015. The theme of meeting was:” Improving the Supervisory Mechanism of OIC Member Countries.” The Financial Cooperation working group hold discussions on the supervisory framework of the banking sector in the OIC member countries and policy options to improve supervisory mechanisms in the banking sector in OIC member countries.

The Statistical, Economic, Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) organized a side event during the third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR), which was held in Sendai, Japan during 14-18 March 2015. The theme of the side event was “Developing Capacities for Effective Disaster Risk Management in Low-Income OIC Member Countries”.

The Centre, in collaboration with the Post and Telegraph Organization (PTT) of Turkey, organised a training course on ‘Postal Financial Services and Postal Codes-Addressing System’ at the venue of the Gambia Postal Services Corporation (GAMPOST), Gambia on 13-14 March 2015. Mr. Ali Manas, Technical Manager, Department of Address Bank Services Management and Mr. İsmail Yılmaz, Branch Manager at the PTT, Turkey provided that two day training course covering below topics along with several question and answer sessions:

The Centre organised a training course on ‘Technical Operations and Infrastructures’ on 10-11 March 2015 at the venue of Sudan Railways Corporation, Sudan. The two day course was provided by Mr. Abdullah Çorak, Manager of Management Projects with External Financing in Turkish State Railways (TCDD), Turkey. The training mainly covered the following topics:

The Centre organised a training course on “Occupational Hygiene” in collaboration with the Saeed Ahmed Awan Centre for the Improvement of Working Conditions & Environment, Pakistan on 9-10 March 2015. The training course was provided by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health, Ministry of Human Resources, Malaysia, with the attendance of participants from public and private sectors in Pakistan.

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 'National Accounts: Financial Sector' at the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS) in Doha, State of Qatar on 8-11 March 2015. The course was conducted by Mr. Mohamed Adel Souidene, Central Director of National Accounts of National Institute of Statistics (INS) of Republic of Tunisia, with the participation of 34 officials of the MDPS.

The Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) and National Institute of Statistics of the Republic of Cameroon have 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 06 March 2015 by Prof. Savaş Alpay, Director General of SESRIC, and Mr. Joseph Tedou, Director General of National Institute of Statistics of the Republic of Cameroon.

SESRIC participated in the 5th meeting of the COMCEC Agriculture Working Group that took place in Ankara on March 5, 2015. The theme of meeting was:” Strengthening Institutional Capacity: Establishing/Strengthening Farmer Organizations in the OIC Member Countries.” The Agriculture working group held deliberations on: the recent trends in strengthening farmer organizations (FOs) at the global level, farmer organizations and policy environment in the OIC member countries, and policy options for establishing/strengthening farmer organizations in the OIC member countries.