The 39th Ministerial Meeting of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) commenced with the official opening ceremony in Istanbul. Azerbaijan was represented by Deputy Minister of Economy Sahib Mammadov.

In his address, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pointed out that instances of Islamophobia worldwide are often masked as freedom of expression. Regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Erdogan stressed that achieving peace in the region hinges on a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflict.

Emphasizing the importance of eliminating shortcomings towards increasing economic cooperation between the countries of the organization, the President of Turkiye noted that the development of e-commerce and digital transformation create new opportunities for the economy.

During the two-day meeting, delegates will discuss the implementation of the OIC Program of Action 2025, COMCEC Strategy as well as other OIC programs in the domain of economic and commercial cooperation.

The meeting will review the promotion of intra-OIC trade and investment, the implementation of the OIC Trade Preferential System (TPS-OIC), trade financing, private sector development, enhanced financial cooperation, improvement of transport and communication, and the development of tourism.

Moreover, the meeting will address issues related to increasing agricultural productivity and ensuring food security, poverty alleviation, cooperation in digital transformation etc.