His Excellency Mr. Yerlan A. Baidaulet, the Director General of the Islamic Organization of Food Security (IOFS), is leading the Institution’s delegation attending the 37th Ministerial Session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC) being held in Istanbul, Republic of Turkey until 25 November 2021 under the chairmanship of the Turkish Presidency.
The main highlight of the first day, 24 November 2021, was the official opening session, which was addressed by Their Excellencies the President of the Republic of Turkey, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, through a video message, Turkey’s Vice President Fuat Oktay, the new Secretary General of OIC, Mr. Hissein Brahim Taha, the Minister of National Economy of the State of Palestine, Mr. Khaled al-Osaily, as well as the Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Nigeria, and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in representation, respectively, Asian, African, and Arab Groups of the OIC geographic distribution.
On the sidelines of the Ministerial gathering, the IOFS Director General had a number of bilateral meetings, including with Mr. Hissein Brahim Taha, the OIC Secretary General, an occasion that was seized to welcome him to his new important role, to wish him success, and to hope for further increased joint coordination, particularly in 2022 where the IOFS has chosen as the Year of Africa. With the President of Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), His Excellency Dr. Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser, the IOFS Director General recalled the joint MoU signed in 2019 and need to operationalize the same for ensuring implementation of projects for the benefit of Member States. In this regard detailed discussions were held with HE Ayman Sejini, CEO, ICD and HE Omar Kaissi, CEO, ICIEC to facilitate the implementation of the signed earlier Partnership Agreements with those IsDB Group institutions, especially, with regard to structuring joint projects in the African Member countries. Another meeting was with the Secretary General of the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC), His Excellency Mr. Ihsan Övüt, with whom a bilateral agreement was discussed to coordinate halal-related activities between the two sister Institutions.
It should be mentioned that the 37th COMCEC Ministerial Session will close on 25 November 2021 with the adoption of resolutions.
Nur-Sultan, 24 November 2021
