A delegation headed by Mr. Sıddık Topaloğlu, the Deputy Undersecretary of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security of the Republic of Turkey visited SESRIC on 11 June 2010. The delegation comprised of Mr. İsmail Gerim, Deputy General Director of the General Directorate of Occupational Health and Safety in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Mr. Coşkun Demirci, Director of Occupational Health and Safety Centre (İSGÜM) and a number of senior experts from the Ministry.

At the outset, the Acting Director General of SESRIC, Dr. Sıdıka Başçı, expressed her thanks and welcome to the delegates for their kind visit and the successful undertaking of the joint OIC-VET Pilot Project entitled “Study Visit on Occupational Health and Safety” during the period 24-28 May 2010 in the premises of the Occupational Health and Safety Centre (İSGÜM) in Ankara, with the participation of senior officials and experts from the peer institutions in the OIC Member Countries. In this regard, she underlined the importance of occupational health and safety in promoting the quality of civil life in OIC Member Counties, and stressed the need to cooperate and collaborate among relevant agencies operating in member countries particularly in the field of capacity building.

Dr. Başçı also stated that SESRIC has recently initiated a new capacity building programme on occupational health and safety under the long standing SESRIC Capacity Building Programme and is planning to implement short term training programmes and workshops by matching the needs and capacities of the related institutions in the member countries under the OIC-VET Programme, which was endorsed by the 24th Session of the COMCEC in Istanbul in 2008 and launched by H.E. Abdullah Gül, President of the Republic of Turkey and Chairman of COMCEC at the COMCEC Economic Summit held on 9 November 2009 in Istanbul.

Dr. Başçı also mentioned that SESRIC endeavours to enhance all sorts of cooperation and collaboration with all related national, regional and international institutions aiming at realising its noble aims and objectives for the benefit of all member countries. In this regard, she expressed SESRIC’s readiness in improving mutual relationship and establishing new partnerships with the Ministry of Labour and Social Security on the areas of interest to the OIC Member Countries.

On his part, the Head of the delegation Mr. Sıddık Topaloğlu, the Deputy Undersecretary of the Ministry of Labour of the Republic of Turkey, expressed his thanks for the Acting Director General of the Centre for her warm receiving of the delegation and informed her that his Ministry is ready to cooperate with the Centre in the field of occupational health and safety through exchanging technical expertise in technical training for the benefit of the OIC Member Countries. He also extended his invitation to the Centre to actively participate in the XIX World Congress on Safety and Health at Work scheduled to be held on 11-15 September 2011 in Istanbul, Republic of Turkey, and which will be hosted by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security together with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Social Security Association (ISSA).