Since 2009, SESRIC convenes the governors of the central banks and monetary authorities of the OIC member countries for the purpose of enhancing the level of cooperation and coordination among their respective institutions, as well as following up the contemporary developments and trends in the global economy. The 2009 and 2010 Meetings of the Central Banks and Monetary Authorities were held in Istanbul, Turkey, and the 2011 Meeting was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

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International Workshop on ‘Science and Technology Diplomacy for Developing Countries’ will be co-organised by Centre for Science & Technology of the Non-Aligned and Other Developing Countries (NAM S&T Centre) and Centre for Innovation and Technology Cooperation (CITC) Islamic Republic of Iran. The workshop will be held during 13-16 May, 2012 in Tehran, Iran.

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The Second Session of the OIC-StatCom will be co-organised by SESRIC and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) on 13-15 May 2012 in Izmir, Turkey. During the Session alongside the discussion of the activities of the OIC-StatCom Working Groups, delegates will have the opportunity to present their experiences and best practices on innovative methods and new data collection methodologies used in the 2010 Population and Housing Censuses. Also quality management approaches both from institutional and data collection process point of view will be discussed by the delegates.

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The 28th Meeting of the Follow-up Committee of COMCEC will be held in Ankara, Turkey on 9-10 May 2012. The Meeting will be attended by the representatives of the OIC member countries of the Committee and the representatives of the OIC and its subsidiary, specialized and affiliated institutions working the economic domain. The Meeting will review and discuss the progress made in the implementation of the resolutions and decisions of the 27th Session of the COMCEC which was held in Istanbul in October 2011. The participants will discuss a set of common issues of concern to the member countries with a view to enhancing economic and commercial cooperation among them. These issues will be discussed under various Agenda Items, including cooperation in the area of trade, cooperation in priority sectors of agriculture, tourism and transportation, financial cooperation, private sector cooperation, and poverty alleviation. The Meeting will also prepare the draft agenda of the upcoming 28th Session of COMCEC which will be held in Istanbul on 8-11 October 2012.

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SESRIC and the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), under the patronage of Turkish Embassy of Nouakchott, will jointly organise “Food and Life Safety Support Programme” in Nouakchott, Mauritania, on 5-10 May 2012, within the framework of the OIC Agricultural Capacity Building Programme (OIC-AgriCaB). The trainings will be provided by academicians who are international experts from various universities of Turkey. Veterinary surgeons, food engineers, medical and private sector staff who are working in the food sector will be attending this programme. The aim of the programme is to enhance the capacities in producing red meat, fish and other food in compliance with international level of standards.

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Occupational Safety and Health Week (OHS-WEEK) has been held regularly by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security of the Republic of Turkey (MoLSS) every year on 4-10 May to discuss about situation of OHS and find proper solutions to OHS problems.

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Dr. Savaş Alpay, the Director General of SESRIC, addressed the African Conference on Measuring Well-Being and Fostering the Progress of Societies as a panellist at the Roundtable of Policy Makers: Towards Evidence-Based Policy Making along with Mr. Ahmed Lahlimi Alami, High Commissioner of Planning of HCP Morocco, Mr. Moubarak Lo, Advisor to the President of Senegal, Mr. Antonin Dossou, Chief of Staff, Prime Minister of Benin, The Roundtable was chaired by Ms. Thokozile Ruzvidzo, Director of UN African Centre for Gender and Social Development and Mr. Pali Lehohla, Director General of Statistics South Africa. This session pointed out the key issues related to improving national statistical systems and using statistics for policy-making.

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Occupational Health and Safety Institute (ISGUM) of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security of the Republic of Turkey was invited to the kickoff meeting for the South Eastern Europe countries (SEE countries) which was Organised and hosted by the University College of Applied Sciences in Safety and has been carried out in Zagreb, Croatia.

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Dr. Savaş Alpay, Director General of SESRIC, paid a courtesy visit to Mr. Birol Aydemir, President of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), in Ankara, Turkey on 17 April 2012.

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A delegation from International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations (IIFSO) headed by Secretary General Dr. Ahmed Abdelatti visited SESRIC on 14 April 2012. Mr. Hüseyin Hakan Eryetli, Director of Training and Technical Cooperation Department of SESRIC, received the delegation.

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H.E. Ahmad Kasim Al-Ansi, Minister of Public Health and Population of the Republic of Yemen, visited SESRIC with his delegation comprising of Mr. Sameer Reza, Yemen Parliament Member, H.E. Abdulkavi Al-Iryani, Yemen Ambassador to Turkey, Mr. Khaldon Saeed Abdulla, Counselor in Yemen Embassy in Ankara and Dr. Akram Abdulkarem Algunaid, INGO Director in Ministry of Public Health and Population on 5 April 2012 in Ankara, Turkey.

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SESRIC participated in the first international seminar on “Youth and Development in OIC Member Countries” organized by the IDB Group on the occasion of its 37th Board of Governors Annual Meeting on 2 April 2012 in Khartoum, Sudan. Two international experts, Mr. Huseyin Hakan Eryetli, Director of Training and Technical Cooperation Department at SESRIC, and Mrs. Dahlia Khalifa, International Finance Cooperation (IFC), and a number of youth representatives from different parts of the world attended the seminar as panelists to express their ideas on the challenges faced by the younger generation and share their concerns regarding the opportunities open to them in today’s world.

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The 37th Annual Meeting of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group, took place in Khartoum, Republic of the Sudan from 31 March - 4 April 2012. The meetings of the Boards of Governors and General Assemblies of entities of the IDB Group took place on 3 – 4 April 2012. Apart from these meetings, seminars, workshops, and other fora on specific topics of interest to IDB member countries also took place during the Annual Meeting. Important highlights from IDB Group annual meeting are the followings

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The Training Workshop on “Project Risk Management” was jointly organized by the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI) and the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) on 28-31 March 2012 in Ankara, Turkey.

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The Tenth Harvard University Forum on Islamic Finance, hosted by Harvard Law School’s Islamic Finance Project (IFP), was held at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, during March 24-25, 2012, under the theme “Islamic Finance and Development”.

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Mr. Mustafa Sahin, Researcher at SESRIC, visited Central Bank of the Republic of Indonesia on 23 March 2012 to discuss issues of mutual interest of cooperation between the two institutions.

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SESRIC Director-General, Dr. Savaş Alpay, visited the Global Health and Population Department at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) on March 22nd, 2012, at its headquarters in Boston, USA. The Department was represented by Mr. Wafaie Fawzi, Department Chair and Professor of Population Sciences, Nutrition, Epidemiology, and Global Health.

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Dr. Savaş Alpay delivered a seminar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on March 22nd, 2012. The seminar was organized by MIT Muslim Students’ Association (MSA). The MIT MSA aims to assist Muslim students with their practice of Islam and endeavours to promote understanding between Muslims and people of other faiths at MIT. The seminar was held on March 22nd, 2012, under the theme “Challenges and Prospects for the Socio-Economic Development in the Islamic World”.

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Dr. Savas Alpay, Director-General of SESRIC, visited the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) at the Economics Department of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on March 22nd, 2012, in Cambridge, USA. J-PAL was represented in the meeting by Dr. Rachel Glennerster, Director for J-PAL Global. The Lab is a network of 68 academics from all around the world who are united by their use of Randomized Evaluations to answer questions critical to poverty alleviation. J-PAL's mission is to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is based on scientific evidence.

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SESRIC participated in Vocational Education, Industry and High Technology Congress organized by Turkish Asian Centre for Strategic Studies (TASAM), under the auspices of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey, on 22-23 March 2012 in Istanbul, Turkey.

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Dr. Savaş Alpay, Director-General of SESRIC, paid a courtesy visit to the Harvard University on March 22nd, 2012. The Director-General was received by Mrs. Jackie O’Neill, Marshal of the Harvard University, on behalf of Prof. Drew Gilpin Faust, President of the Harvard University. The courtesy visit took place in the historical Wadsworth House, which was built in 1726 for the president of the Harvard. During the visit, Dr. S. Nazim Ali, Director of the Islamic Finance Project (IFP) at the Harvard Law School, was also present.

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Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) organized a training programme on “Health Information System” at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of People’s Republic of Bangladesh on 22-24 March 2012 within the framework of OIC Ibn Sina Health Capacity Building Programme. The Course was provided by Dr. Sinan Korukluoglu, an expert from the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Turkey, and was attended by relevant members of the Management Information System Directorate under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of Bangladesh.

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Atlas of Islamic-World Science and Innovation (AIWSI) is an international project that aims to provide an insightful overview of science and science-based innovation across the Islamic-world, an independent and authoritative assessment of how these capabilities are changing, and analysis of the opportunities and barriers to further progress across the selected countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Mr. Mustafa Sahin, Researcher at SESRIC, Mrs. Priya Shetty, Lead Researcher for ATLAS Indonesia Country Case, and Mrs. Susan Gillespie, Policy Adviser at Royal Society, conducted the fieldwork in Indonesia.

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Dr. Savaş Alpay, Director General of SESRIC, paid a courtesy visit to Dr. Suryamin, Chief Statistician of BPS-Statistics Indonesia, in Jakarta, Indonesia on 15 March 2012.

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Dr. Savaş Alpay, Director General of the SESRIC, paid a courtesy visit to H.E. Dr. H. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of the Republic of Indonesia, on 14 March 2012, in Jakarta. Mr. Sudi Silalahi, State Secretary, Mr. Suryadharma Ali, Minister of Religious Affairs and Dr. Dipo Alam, Cabinet Secretary, were also present at the meeting.

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The Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) organized and hosted a seminar on “Housing Investment and Portfolio Allocation" in its headquarters in Ankara on March 8, 2012. The seminar has been delivered by Mr. Cengiz Tunc, North Carolina State University (NCSU).

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Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) organized a training programme on “Occupational Hygiene: Chemical Factors and Chemical Exposure” at the Ministry of Health of Malaysia, on 6-8 March 2012. The Course was provided by Mr. Kagan Yucel, an expert from Turkish Center for Occupational Health and Safety (ISGUM, and was attended by staff members of the Occupational Health Unit under the Ministry of Health of Malaysia.

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The Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) organized and hosted a seminar on “Heterogeneity and Uncertainty in the Dynamics of Firm Selection into Foreign Markets" in its headquarters in Ankara on March 6, 2012. The seminar has been delivered by Mr. Mehmet Fatih Ulu, University of Chicago.

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The Islamic Conference of Ministers Responsible for Water was held in Istanbul, Republic of Turkey during the period 05-06 March, 2012 under the theme “Working Together for a Water Secure Future”. The Conference was hosted by the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs of the Republic of Turkey. Ministers, Deputy Ministers and high level officials from 28 Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), OIC Institutions, Observers and international organizations participated in the Conference. The aim of the Conference was to provide an opportunity for the Ministers and Representatives of the OIC Member States to review and adopt the OIC Water Vision Document which has been prepared by an Advisory Panel of Experts, composed of prominent experts from all the OIC regions, and discuss major issues and challenges related to the implementation of the OIC Water Vision. Mr. Nabil Dabour, Director of Economic and Social Research Department, and Mr. Mazhar Hussain, Researcher, represented the Centre thereat.

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The Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) organized and hosted a seminar on “Rethinking the Effects of Fiscal Policy on Macroeconomic Aggregates: A Disaggregated SVAR Analysis" in its headquarters in Ankara on March 5, 2012. The seminar has been delivered by Mr. Umut Unal, Florida International University.

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The Fourth Meeting of the Delegates of the National Statistical Offices (NSOs) of the OIC Member Countries was organised by SESRIC on 1 March 2012 in New York, United States of America as a side-event of the Forty-Third Session of the United Nations Statistical Commission. The delegates of the NSOs of the OIC Member Countries attended the meeting that aimed to get their comments and feedback on the tentative agenda of the Second Session of the OIC Statistical Commission.

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A delegation from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Atlanta, USA, visited Dr. Savaş Alpay, Director General of SESRIC, in his office on 22 February 2012. The delegation comprised of Dr. Samira Asma, Chief of Global Tobacco Control, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Mr. William C. Parra, Chief Operating Officer of the Bloomberg Global Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, CDC Foundation and Dr. Toker Ergüder, National Tobacco Control Programme Officer, World Health Organization.

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The Director General of SESRIC, Dr. Savas Alpay, made a statement at the opening session of the workshop on “Country Partnership Models with Central Asia”, which was hosted by the Government of the Republic of Turkey, organized by the COMCEC Coordination Office and Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) and held in Ankara, Turkey, on 22-23 February 2012. Within the framework of the implementation of the OIC Plan of Action for Cooperation with Central Asia, the aim of the workshop was to study and discuss the country partnership models implemented in OIC Central Asian member countries with a focus on the basic obstacles/challenges in the existing country specific technical cooperation models and projects/programmes, sharing best practices, as well as to discuss ways and means for more effective cooperation between these countries and the other OIC member countries and institutions.

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The Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) organized and hosted a seminar on “Immigration in Canada: A General Equilibrium Analysis" in its headquarters in Ankara on February 16, 2012. The seminar has been delivered by Ms. Serife Genc, University of Pittsburgh.

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The First International Food, Agriculture and Gastronomy Congress was held from 15 to 19 February 2012 in Antalya, Turkey. The Congress was organized jointly by Agricultural Federation of Turkey, Middle East Technical University and Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TİKA). The Congress brought together an estimated 3000 people from around 65 countries. Participants of the event ranged from industry executives, decision-makers, government representatives, academics, retailers, operators of restaurants and hotel chains, consumer associations, and agricultural cooperatives. Mr. Nadi Serhan Aydin, Researcher, represented the SESRIC thereat.

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The Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) organized and hosted a seminar on “The Rise of Monogamy" in its headquarters in Ankara on February 7, 2012. The seminar has been delivered by Mr. Sadettin Haluk Citci.

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Fifth Meeting of the Steering Committee of the Islamic Conference of Health Ministers was held at the OIC Headquarters in Jeddah on 31 January – 1 February 2012. The purpose of the Steering Committee Meeting was to review actions taken on the resolutions adopted by the First, Second Islamic Conferences of Health Ministers, and discuss the implementation of the resolutions adopted by the Third Islamic Conference of Health Ministers which was held in Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan on 29 September - 1 October 2011. The Meeting was attended by the members of the Steering Committee and SESRIC was represented by Mr. Mazhar Hussain, Researcher, thereat.

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Dr. Savas Alpay, Director General of SESRIC, delivered a General Lecture at the Institute of Statistics (STIS), a higher education institution on statistics administered by BPS-Statistics Indonesia, in Jakarta, Indonesia on 25 January 2012. The General Lecture was attended by the faculty and more than 1000 students of the STIS. The theme of the General Lecture delivered by Dr. Alpay was “Challenges and Prospects for Socio-Economic Development in the Islamic World”.

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The Coordination Meeting of OIC Institutions Working in the Economic Domain was held at OIC Headquarters on 21-22 January 2012 with the participation of the following OIC Institutions working in the economy domain: OIC General Secretariat (Department of Economic Affairs), IDB (ISFD, ICD, ITFC), SESRIC, COMCEC Coordination Office, ICCI, ICDT, and OISA. The Meeting was chaired by H.E. Amb. Hameed A. Opeloyeru, Assistant Secretary General for Economic Affairs.

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The Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) organized and hosted a seminar on “Long Term Contracts and Farm Inflexibility Premium in the Production of Cellulosic Ethanol" in its headquarters in Ankara on January 17, 2012. The seminar has been delivered by Ms. Rozita Jalili.

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Dr. Savaş Alpay, Director General of SESRIC, delivered a special speech at Ankara Centre for Thought and Research (ADAM) on 13th January 2012. The conference entitled “Socio-Economic Development in the Islamic World: Challenges and Prospects” was attended by a group of academicians, industry practitioners, government officials and students.

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The Meeting of Senior Officials from Member States of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) took place in Istanbul, Republic of Turkey from 12 to 14 January 2012 to consider the OIC Water Vision document. The Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs, Republic of Turkey in collaboration with the OIC General Secretariat hosted the Meeting. Fifty participants from thirty-two OIC Member States and OIC Institutions attended the Meeting during which Mr. Atilla Karaman, Researcher, represented the SESRIC.

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SESRIC organized a study visit on “Skill Development for Youth Employment” (SDYE) in collaboration with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), the Ministry of National Education (MoNE), Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MoLSS) of the Republic of Turkey and the Turkish Employment Organisation (İŞKUR) on 11-13 January 2012, in Ankara, Turkey. The study visit was attended by delegations of OIC Member Countries, namely Cameroon, Egypt, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Palestine, Senegal, Tunisia and Turkey and also by representatives of the Al – Fakhoora Programme, a programme of poverty reduction developed by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Besides, the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC) attended the Study Visit as observer.

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