The Secretary General Urges Regional Organizations to Consider Four Areas for Cooperation

^{16/05/2017- The Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen urged regional organizations to consider four areas for their cooperation, namely political consultations; economic cooperation; cooperation on cultural and social matters; and humanitarian assistance, while putting emphasis on intra-OIC trade, transportation, agricultural and rural development. The Secretary General made these points at the opening of the Second Consultative Forum with the Regional Cooperation Organizations held in Jeddah on 15 May 2017 on the sidelines of the 42nd Annual Meeting of IDB, which started in Jeddah, Saudi Arabiaon 14 May 2017 and will continue until 18 May 2017.}

^{Meanwhile, the Secretary General commended the ongoing efforts of Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to foster closer partnership with regional cooperation organizations with a purpose of creating a structured dialogue platform for identifying and coordinating joint actions on policy and project implementation, capacity building and exchange of expertise.}

^{This commendation was conveyed in the address of the Secretary General delivered on his behalf by Amb. Hameed Opeloyeru, Assistant Secretary General for Economic Affairs.}

^{The forum brought together heads of Regional Cooperation Organizations and UN regional economic commissions, including LAS, COMESA, IGAD, ECO, NEPAD Agency, and UNESCWA. Participants, which include other OIC institutions such as SESRIC, ICDT and ITFC, reviewed the various activities undertaken in partnership with regional cooperation organizations.}

^{The meeting, which was also addressed by the President of IDB Group, wound up its proceedings with adoption of a matrix of activities for the biennium 2017-2018.}

^{Source: http://www.oic-oci.org/topic/?t_id=13575&t_ref=5913&lan=en}