H.E. Zehra Zümrüt SELÇUK, Director General of SESRIC, paid a courtesy visit to H.E. Hissein Brahim TAHA, Secretary General of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on 5 October 2023 in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

During the visit, the Director General of SESRIC briefed the OIC Secretary General concerning the successful outcomes of the 12^th Session of the OIC Statistical Commission (OIC-StatCom), which was organized jointly by SESRIC and the Islamic Development Bank Group in Jeddah, in collaboration with the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) of Kingdom of Saudia Arabia. The 12^th Session of OIC-StatCom witnessed an active participation from 64 representatives of 39 National Statistical Offices (NSOs) of OIC countries and international organizations. Mrs. SELÇUK also shared with HE TAHA that the OIC-StatCom, as the only cooperation forum among the NSOs at the OIC level, serves as a good platform for exchanging experiences and facilitating flow of knowledge among in official statistics.

On his part, the Secretary General of OIC praised the role of OIC-StatCom and SESRIC, in its capacity as the Secretariat of the Commission, in contributing to the efforts of member countries in measuring and reporting the progress vis-à-vis the OIC 2025 Programme of Action and the UN Sustainable Development Agenda for 2030.

H.E. SELÇUK also provided H.E. TAHA with an overview on the resolutions adopted during the 12^th OIC-StatCom Session and also the 9th Ministerial Conference on Food Security and Agricultural Development in the OIC Member States held on 1-2 October 2023 in Doha, State of Qatar.

The visit concluded on a positive note with a mutual understanding of the significance of data to drive progress and prosperity across OIC countries and also underscoring the importance of cooperation in the field of statistics.