Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)

Name of the organization

Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)

General information about the organization

·         Establishment day: 25th September, 1969.

·         Member States: Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan, Aljazeera, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Brunei, Burkina-Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros Islands, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Cote Devour, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libyan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambican, Niger, previous, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Suriname, Syria, Tajikistan, Togo, Tunisia, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Yemen.

·         Purpose: The main objectives of the organization are strengthening İslamic solidarity among member-states, supporting cooperation on science, culture, social, economic and other areas, implementing consultations in other international organizations, promoting cancelation of racial discrimination and any form of colonization, ensuring safety and international peace on the basis of justice collaboration of member states with other countries and creation of mutual understanding conditions.

·         Structure:

·         Secretariat of the Organization;

·         Islamic Summit (meeting of Heads of States and Governments)

·         Sectional conferences (meetings of ministers and permanent representatives of foreign affairs, information, culture, labor, agriculture, and etc.);

·         Subsidiaries (6):

• Statistical, Economic, Social Research and Training Center for Islamic Countries (SESRIC)
• Islamic Center for the Development of Trade (ICDT)
• Islamic Solidarity Fund and its Waqf (ISF)
• Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA)
• Islamic University of Technology (IUT)
• International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA)

·         Affiliated institutions (17):

• Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (ICCIA)
• Organization of Islamic Capitals and Cities (OICC)
• Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation (ICYF-DC)
• General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI)
• Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC) 
• Association of Tax Authorities of Islamic Countries (ATAIC)
• Real Estate Union in Islamic States (REUOS)

·         Specialized bodies (7):

• Islamic Development Bank (IDB)
• Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO)
• Islamic Broadcasting Union (IBU)
• Union of News Agencies of the OIC Member States (UNA)
• Islamic Committee of the International Crescent (ICIC) 
• The Science, Technology and Innovation Organization (STIO)
• Islamic Organisation for Food Security (IOFS)
• Women Development Organization (WDO) in OIC Member States

·         Standing Committees (4):

• Al Quds Committee
• Standing Committee for Information and Cultural Affairs (COMIAC)
• Standing Committee for Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH)
• Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC)

Information about cooperation between Azerbaijan and the organization

·         After the restoration of its independence Azerbaijan is the first country from other former Soviet republics that applied to be a member of OIC and became a member in 1991.

·         OIC condemned the Armenian aggression to Azerbaijan and approved a resolutions related to the interest of Azerbaijan in either the Summit Conferences or Foreign Ministers' Conferences. Number of Resolutions on Economic Assistance to the Republic of Azerbaijan was affirmed within the framework of OIC for the purposes of providing a necessary aid to our country.

·         The 33rd Foreign Ministers' Conference of the organization was held in Baku in 2006.

·         The 35th assembly of Directors' Council of Islamic Development Bank of OIC was held in Baku in 2010.

·         On 24-26 April 2019, the XI International Economic Summit (Kazan Sammiti-2019) of Russia and OIC countries was held in Kazan, Russia. The Small and Medium Business Development Agency participated at the meeting.

·         Regarding the Cooperation with the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC):

·         COMCEC, established at the 3rd OIC Summit in Mecca in 1981, and it is the main platform for multilateral economic and trade cooperation of the Islamic world.

·         According to the decision of 1984, the President of Türkiye chairs the Committee on a permanent basis. The Coordination Office (Secretariat) of COMCEC is located in Ankara.

·         Working groups on trade, agriculture, tourism, transport and communication, finance, and poverty reduction form the basis of the action mechanism.

·         Every year in November or December, the annual session of the member states of COMCEC is held in Istanbul, which is opened by the speech of the President of Türkiye. Ministry of Economy regularly participates on COMCEC events.

·         Azerbaijan is represented in COMCEC working groups on trade, poverty alleviation, tourism and agriculture.

·         On 25-28 November 2019, the 35th Ministerial Meeting of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) was held in Istanbul, Turkey. Deputy Minister of Economy participated at the meeting.

·         On 8-9 December 2019, the High Level Public and Private Sector Investment Conference of the OIC was held in Istanbul, Turkey. Deputy Minister of Economy participated at the meeting.

·         On November 25, 2020, the opening ceremony of the 36th session of the COMCEC was held in video conference format.

·         On May 24, 2021, a representative of the Ministry of Economy participated in the meeting of the COMCEC Poverty Reduction Working Group on theme "The negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on socio-economic inequalities in OSCE participating States."

·         The Ministry of Economy provided participation in the training on "Sukuk issue in the Islamic capital market" held by SESRIC from May 31 to June 2, 2021.

·         On November 24-25, 2021 the 37th meeting of COMCEC was held in Istanbul, Türkiye. The event was attended by the delegation of the Republic of Azerbaijan led by the Deputy Minister of Economy Niyazi Safarov.

·         On November 26-29, 2022, the 38th meeting of COMCEC on the topic of "Effective Social Assistance Provision and Socioeconomic Empowerment in the light of COVID-19 Pandemic" was held in Istanbul Türkiye. The event was attended by the delegation of the Republic of Azerbaijan led by the Deputy Minister of Economy Sahib Mammadov.

·         On December 4-5, 2023, the meeting of the 39th session of the Standing Committee on Economic and Trade Cooperation (COMCEC) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) was held in Istanbul. Deputy Minister of Economy Sahib Mammadov participated as the head of the delegation from Azerbaijan.

·         On April 24-25, 2024, the Ministry of Economy participated in the seminar on "Development of Halal Industry in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation countries".

·         On June 25, 2024, a training session on "Strengthening Public-Private Partnership for Effective Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) System Organization" was held by the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Ministry of Education of Malaysia. The Ministry of Economy was represented at the training.

·         On September 16-17, 2024, the 23rd meeting of Working Group on Poverty Reduction of the Standing Committee on Economic and Trade Cooperation (COMCEC) on the topic of "Reducing the negative effects of natural disasters on the poor part of society in the OIC member countries" was held in Ankara, Republic of Turkey. The Ministry of Economy was represented at the meeting.

·         • On September 19-20, 2024, The 23rd meeting of the Working Group on Trade of the Standing Committee on Economic and Trade Cooperation (COMCEC) on the topic "Development of quality infrastructure in OIC member countries" in Ankara, Turkey. the participation of the employees of the Ministry was ensured at the meeting. The Ministry of Economy was represented at the meeting.