Expert Group Meeting on Enhancing Intra - OIC Trade
Date: 05-06 July 2008
Venue: Ankara - Türkiye

The Experts Group Meeting (EGM) on Enhancing Intra-OIC Trade was jointly organised by the Centre, the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchange (TOBB) of the Republic of Turkey and the COMCEC Coordination Office and held at the campus of the Economy and Technology University (ETU) of the TOBB in Ankara on 5-6 July 2008.

The Meeting aims at exploring ways and means of facilitating the realisation of the target to achieve 20% intra-OIC trade by 2015 as stipulated by the OIC Ten-Year Programme of Action.

A total of 35 experts from OIC member countries, OIC institutions and OIC national trade promotion agencies and some international and regional organisations and academia participated in the Meeting.

The Meeting discussed the following main themes: trade financing, trade promotion, trade facilitation, trade capacity building and promoting and developing strategic commodities originating from member countries.

The main highlights of the Meeting were the Brainstorming Session in the second day in which all the participants involved in the discussion and exchanged their views on the possible effective and efficient ways and means of enhancing intra-OIC trade with the aim of preparing a Road Map on the subject, including specific recommendations, scenarios and modalities.

The final report, including the recommendations, of the Meeting will be submitted to and presented at the 24th Session of the COMCEC, which will be held in October 2008 in Istanbul, for consideration by the ministers of economy and trade of the OIC member countries.

Mr. Nabil Dabour, Senior Researcher at the Centre, addressed the Meeting at the Opening Session on behalf of Dr. Savas Alpay, Director General of the Centre, and  made a presentation on “Facilitating Trade through OIC Multilateral Agreements on Economic and Commercial Cooperation and Potential Gains from these Agreements” during the first Session of the Meeting on the theme “Trade Facilitation”.

Draft Work Programme of the Meeting