The 31^st Meeting of the Follow-up Committee of the COMCEC was held on 13-14 May 2015 in Ankara, Turkey, with the participation of the member countries of the Committee (Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Palestine, Egypt, Kuwait, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Qatar, Mali and Niger). The OIC General Secretariat and the following subsidiary, affiliated and specialised organs (SESRIC, ICDT, IDB, ICCIA, OISA and SMIIC) attended the Meeting.

The Committee reviewed and discussed the progress achieved in the implementation of the resolutions and decisions of the 30th Session of the COMCEC, which was held in November 2014 in Istanbul. The discussion included a set of common issues of concern to the member countries with a view to enhancing economic and commercial cooperation among them. These issues were discussed under the following main Agenda Items:

• COMCEC Strategy and its implementation;
• The implementation of the OIC Ten-Year Programme of Action;
• Expansion of Intra-OIC trade;
• Enhancing the role of private sector in economic cooperation;
• Improving transport and communication;
• Developing a sustainable and competitive tourism sector;
• Increasing productivity of agriculture sector and sustaining food security;
• Eradicating poverty;
• Deepening financial cooperation;
• Preparations for the exchange of views on “Post-2015 Development Agenda and Development Challenges of the Islamic Ummah: Improving Basic Services Delivery”.

During the working sessions of the Meeting, SESRIC briefed the Committee on the latest developments on the implementation of the OIC-VET Programme and the preparation for the organization of the 2015 Meeting of the Central Banks and Monetary Authorities of the OIC member countries, which will be hosted by the Central bank of Suriname on 23-24 October 2015. In this connection, the Committee appreciated the continuous efforts of SESRIC towards initiating and implementing various capacity building programmes and training courses in different fields and areas of interest to the Member States with a view to enhancing the capacities and quality of human resources in these countries.

The Committee also welcomed the training and capacity building programmes organized by SESRIC in the field of Central Banks and requested the Centre to continue organizing such activities for the relevant institutions of the Member States. On another area, the Committee took note of the efforts of SESRIC in organizing training courses on various cotton-related aspects in the Member States within the framework of the OIC Cotton Training Programme (OIC-CTP) and urged the Cotton research Centres of Excellence to enhance their cooperation with SESRIC in implementing these training courses. In the same context, the Committee took note of the submission of a capacity building project which combines 14 cotton projects into one by SESRIC to the IDB in accordance with the relevant resolution of the 30^th Session of COMCEC and requested the IDB to finalize its consideration for funding this project proposal.

The Committee also welcomed the organization of the workshop on “capacity Building on value Chain Analysis for Agri-Business” on 1-3 December 2014 by SESRIC in Ankara, in collaboration with the ICCIA, FAO and UNDP. In the same context, the Committee noted with appreciation the efforts of the Republic of Turkey and the SESRIC in organizing training courses on different technical agricultural and food security aspects in the Member States within the framework of the OIC Agriculture Capacity building Programme. The Committee also welcomed the holding of a training course on “Technical Operations and Infrastructures” in the field of transport on 10-11 March 2015 in Sudan by SESRIC in collaboration with the Turkish State Railways (TCDD).

The 31^st Meeting of the Follow-up Committee of the COMCEC also discussed and approved the Draft Agenda of the 31^st Ministerial Session of the COMCEC, which will be held in Istanbul on 23-26 November 2015.