Officials of tourism agencies from Arab countries visit the Black Sea provinces of Kastamou and Sinop, and explain the reason why Arabs choose to come to Turkey.

Officials from tourism agencies from Arab countries, have spoken about why their citizens chose to come to Turkey for holidays. Among the most important factors they detailed were the food, the shared history, the natural beauty, and religious similarities between Turkey and their home countries.

The officials from Oman, Kuwait, Qatar Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Abu Dhabi visited touristic and historical places in the Black Sea provinces of Sinop and Kastamonu over the weekend. The Western Black Sea Promotional Tour was organized with the cooperation of Turkish Airlines (THY), the Kastamonu Confederation (Kas-Kon), and the Turkish-Middle East Tourism Council Agencies.

Nasim Syed from Kuwait said his citizens chose to come to Turkey with their family since it was a Muslim country like Kuwait and so also used halal food. “Turkey is a Muslim country. At the same time, it attracts our citizens because the roots of the Ottoman Empire are on this land, and the Ottoman Empire protected and governed Arab countries in the past. Halal food and tasty dishes are other reasons for them to come to Turkey. Its weather is nice, too.”

Oman’s Samiri al-Ajmi said that there were very beautiful places in Kastamonu. “The city has a natural beauty.” He said the first thing that came to his mind about Turkey was that it was a good country for tourism, adding, “It has been said that the green areas in Turkey do not exist in any other place. I saw it when I came here. The fact that it is between the East and the West, Asia and Europe is very important in terms of tourism.”

Interest increasing every year
Sree Kumar, a travel agency official from Abu Dhabi, said his agency organized tours to Turkey two or three times a year, and that they had been working with Turkey for 15 years. “People’s interest in Turkey is increasing every year.”

Kumar said there were many people in Abu Dhabi who wished to visit Turkey. “Tours are organized particularly to Istanbul, Yalova and Bursa. Trips on the Bosphorus, historical areas and touristic venues draw the attention of our people. Its history is also particularly attractive.” He added that the opening of a new airport would encourage further tourism in Kastamonu.

Saudi Arabian Muhammet Nas?r said Turkey’s natural beauty had also drawn the attention of Arab tourists. “Turkey is a beautiful country, and it does not require a visa. This is what first attracts us. We also have the same religion, and this is why our citizens want to come to Turkey so much,” Nas?r said.

Bhauna Singh from Dubai said the reason why Dubai’s people came to Turkey was the hospitality of Turkish people and their smiling faces. He added that Dubai’s tourists generally liked to visit multi-cultural places, and so Turkey fits the bill.

KASTAMONU – Anatolia News Agency

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Except for the religious headgear, the shoot could have been for any glossy fashion magazine. But Ala — called the “Vogue of the veiled” in the Turkish news media — is no conventional publication. In an unlikely fusion of conservative Muslim values and high fashion, it unabashedly appeals to the pious head-scarf-wearing working woman, who may covet a Louis Vuitton purse but has no use for the revealing clothing that pervades traditional fashion magazines.

One of Ala’s founders, Ibrahim Burak Birer, 31, a religious Muslim and a former marketing analyst who favors jeans and designer jackets, said he decided to start the magazine — its name means “the most beautiful of the beautiful” in Turkish — after seeing a transsexual with strap-on breasts in a transparent dress on the cover of an international fashion magazine.

“We realized that there was a gap to be filled for conservative Muslim women in Turkey who have a different worldview,” he said in an interview at Ala’s sleek offices, where young women in head scarves sit hunched over Apple computers. “Until now, most fashion magazines have offered a lifestyle centered on being sexy, being skinny and eating sushi. But not all women dress like those girls from ‘Sex and the City.’ ”

Ala adheres to strict Islam-inspired sartorial guidelines: arms and heads must be covered; tight pants and skirts above the ankle are forbidden. But, Mr. Birer said, the Koran has no prohibition on five-inch stiletto heels. “You can be elegant and sophisticated,” he said. “Female beauty is O.K. as long as it’s not seductive.”

The success of Ala, which has attracted 30,000 subscribers since its founding in June, reflects the rise of an Islamic bourgeoisie in Turkey that has prospered under the Islam-inspired Justice and Development Party of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

This religious merchant class, which sees nothing incompatible between wearing a head scarf and driving a Mercedes, is altering the society in a country once dominated by a secular elite that banned the wearing of head scarves in public institutions. In Istanbul today, religious businessmen endure six-month waiting lists for $150,000 BMWs, while hip young women in head scarves, skinny jeans and bright red lipstick throng the more than 80 shopping malls in the city. Head scarves are also now ubiquitous on college campuses.

In Ala, page after page of beautiful women in designer head scarves underscore Turkey’s growing comfort with such outward displays of religion.

Yet for all of Ala’s avowed restraint, the magazine and its attention-grabbing images of pouting models staring suggestively in their costly outfits have been criticized by some religious scholars. They argue that regardless of whether a woman is photographed showing off a head scarf or sexy lingerie, such behavior violates Islam, which calls for women not to flaunt their femininity.

Other Muslim intellectuals have denounced Ala for championing what they call a crass commercialism at odds with Islam. (An Islamic concept called israf forbids consuming more than one needs.) Others have doubts about the magazine’s use of lithe Eastern European models.

A recent issue featured an article on an opulent seaside hotel in the Mediterranean coastal town of Marmaris, complete with a landing wharf for private yachts and a separate beach, a pool and prayer facilities for men and women. Another article extolled a new line of luxurious alcohol-free perfumes called Raviseine, created by two Pakistani-born brothers. The writer noted that the perfumes were inspired by the Seine and did not contain animal products like pork that could be deemed un-Islamic.

In an interview in a recent issue, a 24-year-old homemaker listed the five things she could not live without: her red scarf, white silk shirt, black pants, pumps and Chanel Allure perfume.

“Magazines like Ala try to promote a monsterlike capitalism by telling people to consume goods that people in Turkey really can’t afford,” said Ali Bulac, a Muslim intellectual. “Our religion, our prophet’s lifestyle, encourage us to act and live in modesty, not like the world represented by Ala.”

But Mr. Birer said there was nothing incompatible between living a good life and being a good Muslim. Beneath the criticism he detects an antiquated view of some conservatives that Muslim women should be submissive and invisible.

“Some people criticize us because they think women belong in the home or in the kitchen,” he said, adding that his wife, who advises him on fashion, wears a head scarf and works as a playwright.

As for why Ala was importing leggy non-Muslim models from Eastern Europe rather than using homegrown ones, he said they were simply cheaper. Moreover, he said, some Turkish models can be reluctant to appear veiled in a country where the head scarf has been caught up in a culture war between secularists and religious conservatives.

Daniel Etter for The New York Times

Hulya Aslan is editor of the magazine, founded in June.

Hulya Aslan, Ala’s editor, a 24-year-old in a striking leopard-patterned head scarf, argued that the magazine’s depiction of fashionable veiled women reflected the empowerment of a generation of pious women in Turkey and was helping to overcome outmoded stereotypes about wearing the head scarf.

“For too long the head scarf was used as a political weapon, but there are millions of young women like me who wear the hijab; we are helping to break taboos,” she said. “We are also overcoming the cliché that head scarves are only for old aunties.”

With Turkey’s regional stature growing — and with Turkish exports like soap operas and fashion gaining a foothold in the Arab world — Mr. Birer and his business partner Mehmet Volkan Atay, 32, say they are hoping to capitalize by eventually publishing Ala across the Middle East.

“Turkey is becoming a model in the Middle East, and Ala could have wider appeal,” Mr. Atay said.

But not everyone is convinced. Ayse Bohurler, a founding member of the governing party and a leading conservative thinker, said she was skeptical of what she called the magazine’s mixed message to pious women.

“Islam is a religion that promotes modernity,” she said. “But when you wear a Gucci head scarf, that doesn’t make you a more modern woman.”

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Answering Today’s Zaman’s question in a written interview before boarding a plane to Ankara for an official visit on Thursday, Johann Schneider-Ammann, the Swiss head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, said: “This is a big concern for my government. The key to solving this issue is dialogue; dialogue with Muslim communities in Switzerland and, on the international level, dialogue with Muslim countries.”

Switzerland received criticism for its approval of a ban against the construction of new minarets in a plebiscite three years ago. Earlier this month, the country’s National Council rejected a motion to ban wearing burqas by the anti-minaret camp, the so-called Egerkinger Committee, who believe that the rejection ignores the majority of Swiss who are openly against the “Islamization” of Switzerland.

Schneider-Ammann emphasized the necessity of better dialogue between various communities living together in Switzerland. “This means explaining the situation and the policies adopted by the government, as well as supporting and promoting mutual understanding. Dialogue also allows for solutions to problems associated with living together. Coexistence among people from different cultural background always and everywhere causes problems,” he said. “I strongly believe that problems are not caused by xenophobic or Islamophobic attitudes of the people,” added Schneider-Ammann. The minister also noted that “foreigners are well-integrated in Switzerland. This is particularly true for the approximately 100,000 Turks living and working here.”

Turkey and Switzerland had a total trade volume of some $6.5 billion, but it is highly unbalanced since Swiss exports to Turkey account for slightly more than $5 billion of that. However, there is also a considerable level of Swiss investments in Turkey. Some 600 Swiss companies employ more than 15,000 people in the fields of machinery, pharmaceuticals, chemicals production and the financial sector in Turkey, Schneider-Ammann noted in the interview, adding that around 300,000 Swiss tourists visit Turkey every year.

The minister said there is a potential for the growth in commercial relations between the two countries. And he added that “Turkey, with its economic dynamism, has become a priority country for Swiss foreign economic policy.” The Turkish economy has grown by more than five percent on average each year for the past decade.

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Talking to the media here on Tuesday, PNAC Director General Anjum Bashir said the Standard and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC) of Turkey had acknowledged the Halal accreditation scheme of Pakistan and would give membership of its accreditation committee to PNAC.

This, he added, would give higher recognition to PNAC internationally, providing a better opportunity to monitor developments in finalisation of Halal guidelines of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) – a grouping of Muslim countries.

Certificates issued by PNAC-accredited bodies will also get worldwide recognition.

Bashir said SMIIC board of directors had, in a recent meeting, decided to set up an accreditation committee at its general secretariat in Turkey for launching an accreditation scheme in OIC member states.

The committee will be responsible for establishing a sound system and raise awareness of accreditation concepts in OIC member states. It will also implement accreditation standards, perform peer assessment and issue related certificates.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 21^st, 2012.

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Pakdil said that those food producers who have received international quality certificates and halal food certification from the Turkish Standards Institution (TSE) will be allowed to use related logos and symbols on product labels thanks to a new regulation on halal food labeling.

Pakdil went on to say that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has ordered that the lowering of the rate of value added tax (VAT) on food products. The VAT rate on wholesale food products is 1 percent, but for retail food products the rate is 8 percent, which results in illicit food production, Pakdil said.

Turkey’s Organized Agro-Industrial Zones will be transferred from the authority of the Industry Ministry to that of the Agriculture Ministry, Pakdil said.

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There are currently 800 million Facebook users around the world, 300 million of whom are Muslim. This number is expected to increase by 100 percent in 10 years’ time.

Speaking to Sunday’s Zaman in an inclusive interview, the chairman of Salamworld, Abdulvahit Niyazov, said that the platform has been developed with the aim of providing a more “halal” (Islamically permissible) website for Muslims to interact with each other online.

Niyazov said Istanbul is seen as an ideal location due to its unique position between the Eastern and Western worlds and that Turkey is economically stable, thus attracting many businessmen from all around the world. He added that Turkey is seen as a leading Muslim country among Islamic countries. Niyazov says this project is solely a business project that intends to serve needs of Muslims in the modern world and it is not supported by any political movements or countries. He added that he has always shown great respect to the works of Turkish scholars around the world, including well-respected figures Fethullah Gülen and former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan.

Salamworld states that its users will be provided many applications, including a vast collection of books on Islamic heritage in a number of eBook formats, certified distance learning programs tailored to various levels of education, interactive session with recognized scholars and qualified experts and consultants. A multilingual online Islamic encyclopedia will be available in interlinked pages created by multiple users.

Another important application will be the online city guide, where users will be provided with worldwide city guides to mosques, Islamic centers, Halal restaurants and other Muslim businesses. Users will also be given opportunities to broadcast sermons, lectures and newsworthy events. Salamworld will provide daily updates of breaking news and a space for online discussions.

The company chairman stated that there will be an online store of Islamic goods and services and, additionally, tours will be advertised and organized for annual pilgrimages to the holy city of Mecca. Mentioning that 54 percent of the Muslim world is under the age of 25, Salamworld targets Muslim children and youth to be educated on Islam with interactive online games.

Salamworld states that this project is not only going to be created to serve as an ordinary social networking platform. It describes its mission as being multi-faceted; an alternative to popular social networks, offering Islamic content generated by Muslims for Muslims, a place for Muslims to raise their voices, a platform for communication between Muslim communities, a channel between Muslims and the international community, offering a field of opportunities for Muslim youth and a range of Internet services for modern Muslim society.

Salamworld chairman Niyazov stated that he was inspired to start this social networking project in April 2011 and he says the main reason for starting the projects was to provide a chance for Muslims to have their own space on the Internet and in social networks, taking into account that one-fifth of the Earth is Muslim.

Niyazov told Sunday’s Zaman that they are in the process of actively developing the company. The product and the project is planned to be launched during the fasting month of Ramadan.

“Besides Istanbul, we have offices in Moscow, Russia and Egypt. Between March and April 2012 we plan to open a technical office in India’s Hyderabad and Indonesia’s Jakarta in June or July and another technical office in New York in October or November. Our plan for this year is also to open an office somewhere in the Persian Gulf (either in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Doha) and also in Iran. Our plans for the next year also include openings in Almaty or Astana to supervise the Central Asian region, Mecca and Medina as the Holy cities, Paris and London for Europe and Beijing and Kuala Lumpur for Southeast Asia. Our professional team now consists of experts from 12 countries. The executive board has representatives from 17 countries,” the Salamworld chairman said.

Salamworld says they aim to provide an alternative social network that is safe for young users, without the harmful content that is usually associated with social networks. Several leading Muslim countries such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan ban thousands of websites to protect their Internet users from harmful content. “I strongly believe that without a reliable alternative to choose from, and with a lack of Islamic content, young Muslim Internet users are unprotected against the harmful contents of websites and social networks that are devoted to today’s popular culture,” Niyazov added.

Many have previously tried to set up Islamic social networking projects but they failed and later closed.

“Speaking frankly, all of them failed. When a website has 20,000 users from the 1.5 billion Muslims in the world, this is also a failure. Having no competitors in this market of course increases the risk of failing; from the other side, it also increases the potential area of dissemination. As people have no alternatives, this gives us an opportunity to grow faster,” said Niyazov.

The company chairman said that well-known scholars and intellectuals in the Muslim world support the project. Some of them joined the company’s executive board and others have become Salamworld’s “true friends.”

According to the Salamworld development plan, the company plans to spend not less than $50 million in the next three years. Niyazov said he is absolutely confident that these figures are correct, and will give good results. He added that Salamworld’s major goal for the next few years is to become a global company with a $1 billion turnover. “I can say with certainty that we’re moving much more efficiently that we even planned to,” he added. Moreover, within next four to six years, Salamworld plans to launch as a public company, with its head office in Hong Kong. However, it’s very difficult to make any kind of forecasts for the next six years, especially regarding the economy and finances.

AH/IINA

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UN-Millennium Development Goal (MDGs) can be achieved by eliminating Poverty through Islamic Microfinance:

01-02-2012

(Istanbul) A two day International summit on Islamic Microfinance has started in Istanbul. The basic purpose behind this summit is to promote Islamic Microfinance and to elucidate the strategy to remove obstacles from its way to progress. Microfinance experts from different continents like Africa, Asia, Europe and America etc. are participating in this Int’l summit. While speaking to the opening session of the Summit, Muhammad Zubair Mughal, Chief Executive Officer, AlHuda Centre of Islamic Banking and Economics said that Pakistan has been acknowledged as a leader of Islamic Microfinance Industry and right now in Pakistan; more than 20 institutions are providing microfinance services. While highlighting the importance of Islamic microfinance, he said that around the world, conventional Microfinance has badly failed and its examples can be clearly seen in India and Latin America. He further added that due to the failure of conventional financial system, many countries in the world are adapting Islamic microfinance system for poverty alleviation through which not only poverty will be eradicated but also a sustained economy shall come into being in these countries.

While addressing to the International Summit, he further added that one reason behind expansion of Poverty is interest base mechanism in Muslim countries, People do not use Financial and Banking system due to interest as it is  strictly prohibited in Islam hence forced to live in poverty whereas through Islamic Microfinance by using the financial products based on Shari’ah principles, we can get the people out from poverty. He further highlighted the need assessment of Islamic microfinance in Muslim Countries by saying that 44% of conventional Microfinance clients live in Muslim Countries and United Nations has added half of the countries of Islamic Development Bank in the list of least developed countries which shows that Islamic Microfinance can be used to eradicate poverty from Muslim-Majority Counties. While identifying the Muslim population and poverty in different regions of the world, he said that 85.5% in East Asia, 34% in South Asia, 58% in West Africa, 58% in Caucasus and 97.3% in MENA are Muslims and collectively, in 2.4 Billion population of these regions, Muslims are of 48.3% which clearly shows the need of Islamic Microfinance for poverty alleviation in these countries. He further added that not only Muslims but Non-Muslims can also get benefits from Islamic Microfinance because Islamic Microfinance is not a religion but a system which is equally useful for Muslims and Non Muslims as well and the clear example of this fact is that Non-Muslims consider it very attractive.

He said that Islamic Microfinance is essential to achieve Millennium Development Goals( MDGs), proposed by United Nations for alleviating poverty and social uplifting. He further added that if development of Islamic Microfinance starts right from today, these goals can easily be achieved till 2015. He said that Islamic Microfinance sector is facing difficulties due to apathy of Donors and to fulfill this deficiency, Sukuk (Islamic Bonds) can be issued. He further said that more financial products can be introduced by enhancing research in the field of Islamic microfinance and there are many opportunities for development in this field. AlHuda Centre of Islamic Banking and Economics has established a specific Microfinance help desk so that trainings, research and technical consultation could be provided to Microfinance Institutions worldwide.

In this Summit, the role of Pakistan in the development of Islamic Microfinance has very much appreciated and Pakistan is considered to be as global leader of Islamic Microfinance Industry. This conference will continue for 2 days in Istanbul.

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SalamWorld.com, which will make its internet debut next year, “will seek to unify the youth in a common vision and the healthy values of Islam while attempting to not diffuse any unhealthy information,” said Akhmed Azimov, the initiative’s vice-president.

Based in Istanbul, with offices in Moscow and Cairo and coordinators in 30 countries, the site hopes to attract 50 million users within three years, Azimov told about 150 journalists from Muslim countries at the company’s luxurious Istanbul offices.

“The heart of the project is to create a network without any content that is prohibited by religion,” said Azimov, a Dagestan native. “To achieve this, we will have a big team of moderators and there will be filters.

“We also count on users to moderate themselves and to filter the contents.”

Azimov declined to discuss funding details but said “there’s no problem with that,” adding the investors were a group of businessmen from the Muslim world.

Beyond user-generated content, the site will offer services such as theological consultations and city guides that list mosque locations and halal food stores.

“We’re going to try to create an online encyclopedia, a sort of Islamic Wikipedia,” Azimov said.

(c) 2011 AFP

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Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary General of the Organisation Of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), has outlined a number of issues that are restricting the growth of economic development and business/trade potential in the Islamic countries.

Speaking at the 27th session of the OIC’S Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC), held between 17-20 October in Istanbul, he urged the ministers and government officials present to help remove the bottlenecks and clear the bureaucratic and legal hurdles to facilitate implementation of the various plans and resolutions.

COMCEC is responsible for promoting trade cooperation and economic integration among the Islamic countries. It is one of three permanent committees of the OIC formed in 1984 in line with a resolution taken at an Islamic summit, held in Holy Makkah, Saudi Arabia, in 1981. Turkey was chosen to host COMCEC’s headquarters and offices of its Secretariat General.

COMCEC held an historic Economic Summit in 2009, and the 26th COMCEC Session last year. In line with the OIC Ten Year Plan of Action, these meetings have adopted various “innovative strategies” to boost intra-OIC economic and commercial relations in areas such as trade, agriculture, rural development and food security, and poverty alleviation.

The OIC has sought “the constructive engagement of (OIC) Member States to deepen ownership and to ensure that our joint programmes and projects are implemented without delay. Dr Ihsanoglu said that the OIC has also expanded our network of coordination with the various OIC, regional and international organisations and institutions, in order to increase coordination and synergy so as to fast-track the implementation of our joint plans.”

Here is an edited text of the rest of his speech:

The OIC Trade Preferential System (TPS-OIC), which is composed of the Framework Agreement, a Protocol, and the Agreement of the Rules of Origin, has now become legally operational. However, efforts are now underway to ensure that Member States, which have so far ratified these instruments, should begin to take advantage of the tariff and non-tariff facilities to expand trade among their countries.

It is high time that this meeting should adopt a strong resolution to call for the resumption of the OIC Trade Negotiation Rounds. This will give effect to our numerous resolutions on trade expansion and trade facilitation. There is also the utmost need for this meeting to call on Member States, which have not signed or ratified these trade promoting instruments to do so in the interest of our collective desire for greater wealth creation and increased welfare of the peoples of our Member States.

Intra-OIC trade figures have continued to rise since 2005, notwithstanding the recent global economic downturn. This is due to the combined effect of our increased trade financing and trade promotion activities. The share of Intra-OIC Trade increased from 14.5 % in 2004 to 17.03% in 2010. This means, in monetary terms, that the value of Intra-OIC trade increased from US$ 205 billion in 2004 to US$ 539 billion in 2010. Similarly, the share of OIC Member States in world trade increased from 8.0 % in 2004 to 10.5 % in 2010. There is no doubt that if this trend continues, the target of attaining 20% of intra-OIC trade, which was set in the OIC Ten Year Programme of Action would be realized by the year 2015.

The twin objectives of achieving economic growth and poverty reduction could be realized through the implementation of the ongoing OIC strategies on agriculture, rural development and food security.

Despite the estimated number of 230 million persons in OIC Member States who are suffering from hunger and malnutrition, 90% of the world children with inadequate growth live in 36 of our Member States. Equally depressing is the fact that our Member States have to fund a combined food deficit of US$40 billion per year. This had indeed aggravated the Balance of Payments problems occasioned by the need to pay for the ever increasing oil and energy imports.

The mere fact that these alarming statistics can be addressed by mobilizing the huge opportunities within the OIC, therefore, calls for our concerted action in this regard. The vibrancy of OIC economy is evident in the increasing Gross Domestic Product of OIC Member States from a modest US$ 2 trillion in 2004 to US$ 8 trillion in 2010. OIC Member States now accounts for 11% of world GDP as against 5.36% in 2004.

In the same vein, 23 OIC Member States feature among the world top 20 producers of different agricultural commodities varying from cereals to tropical crops. The impressive arable land in OIC Member States, which stands at 21% of the world figure and the renewable water resources accounting for 14% of world figure are pointers to the fact that intra-OIC cooperation in agriculture is a credible driver of economic growth and social development in our countries.

The 6th Ministerial Conference on Food Security and Agriculture Development took place here in Istanbul, on 3-6 October 2011. The recommendations of the Conference are aimed at increasing our joint projects and programmes in the domain of agricultural capacity-building and productivity. It is also aimed at deepening regional partnership for the implementation of our respective national priorities on agriculture and rural development.

The recommendation for the elaboration of a comprehensive OIC Executive Framework on Agriculture, Rural development and Food Security has been passed to the COMCEC Task Force for further technical inputs. It is important that the Framework would serve as a platform to deepen ownership among OIC Member States and its numerous institutions so that we can overcome the existing constraint of the lack of inclusiveness in our cooperation framework.

This Framework should also identify critical areas for public and private partnerships in the development of strategic commodities and promotion of agricultural value-addition from farm-to-market. This approach is reflected in the outcome of both the Workshop on Agro-food and Agri-business, and the OIC Forum on Development of Agro-Food Industries held concurrently in Kampala, Uganda just last week.

The recommendation for a study on the creation of an OIC Agro-Industrial Association would promote the needed value-addition for enhanced agricultural output in OIC Member States. While commending the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ICCI) for the successful holding of the Workshop, I am sure that the findings of the expert group would advance the role of the Private Sector in our cooperation strategies, while largely contributing to improving on the execution of OIC projects.

The issue of deepening ownership of OIC programmes has become very crucial as we seek to accelerate the implementation of our cooperation agenda. In this regard, some shortcomings exist as manifested in the lack of prompt responses by some of the OIC institutions to various requests, questionnaires, and circulars sent from the OIC General Secretariat.

For example, the fact that only three members responded to the two questionnaires on Tourism Facilitation; and Tourism Research and Training have not encouraged our respective focal points to complete their tasks in these areas. Similarly, only 15 Member States submitted the questionnaires on Strategies and Policies in the area of Agriculture, Rural development and Food Security. This latter situation has delayed the speedy execution of the mandate given by the sectoral Conference on Agriculture and Food Security.

I seek the personal intervention of Honorable Ministers to encourage their officials to submit these documents, which are necessary for proper coordination of intra-OIC actions in the relevant domains.

It is indeed the same spirit of deepening ownership that has informed the on-going reappraisal of the performance of the OIC Cotton Action Plan. Since its inception in 2007, only a few of the total number of 27 approved projects, amounting to US$373 million, has received the necessary funding to ensure its implementation. I wish to hereby urge our Heads of Delegations to support the on-going efforts of the General Secretariat and the Islamic Development Bank to secure additional funding sources by submitting detailed bankable projects through the appropriate national channels.

The General Secretariat has intensified its cooperation with the various regional organisations and international institutions with a view to mobilizing additional resources for its projects. For example, the OIC has received the support of the African Union and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) on our proposal to create an alliance between its Dakar-Djibouti Transport Corridor and the OIC Dakar-Port Sudan Railway Project.

Actions towards mobilizing the US$8 billion component of the Special Programme for the Development of Africa (SPDA) have continued. At the same time, measures are underway to improve the effectiveness of the Programme by identifying and implementing cross-cutting and regional projects in its five priority domains, which are: agriculture and food security, water and sanitation, energy and transport infrastructure, education and youth employment, and health and combating communicable diseases.

Similarly, the proposed OIC Action Plan for Cooperation with Central Asia is aimed at implementing the OIC initiative of regional approach to economic cooperation among OIC Member-States. In this regard, our closer collaboration with the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) is expected to speed up implementation of our economic cooperation projects. It is my sincere hope that this regional approach would go a long way to promote socio-economic renewal in these countries, as much as it would also serve as a sustainable means of socio-political harmony and conflict prevention.

I welcome the outcome of first meeting of the Executive Committee on the OIC Plan of Action for Central Asia, which was held on the sideline of this COMCEC Session. It is my sincere hope that the necessary partnerships would be developed to scale up the implementation of the many lofty objectives of the Plan.

Let me urge this audience to encourage their national development funds to assist in funding OIC projects. Our experiments under the Malaysia Capacity Building Programme in the three countries under the first pilot phase, as well as the declared assistance under the Kuwait Fund for Decent Living indicate that these provide actual sources of funding for our intra-OIC poverty reduction projects.

I also commend the increasing involvement of Private Sector establishments in our project elaboration and implementation mechanisms. I congratulate the President of IDB group on the recent approval, whereby the authorized capital stock of the International Islamic Corporation for Insurance of Investments and Export Credit (ICIEC) was increased from US$240 million to US$640 million. The role of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) is also effective in our desire to mainstream the Private Sector in our cooperation framework.

Furthermore, the current support extended by the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) on the proposed establishment of the Federation of Road Transport Associations in OIC Member States is commendable. Equally commendable is the biennial specialized trade fairs sponsored by the Turkish Independent Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (MUSIAD).

Successful work (has been) carried out by the World Islamic Economic Forum for the enhancement of economic and trade cooperation among the OIC member states as well as non-OIC countries. The expansion of these activities, along with the activities of the ICCI, would generate the desired momentum for multi-sectoral activities within the OIC.

These potential funding sources would indeed to complement the substantial achievements, which we have so far recorded in our trade and development financing schemes. Accordingly, in 2010, the approvals by International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), one of the IDB Group members, on trade financing reached US$ 2.62 billion, which brings the cumulative trade finance approval of trade financing of IDB to US$ 36.96 billion.

I acknowledge the enormous contributions of the various OIC institutions and international organisations for their dedicated support, which has facilitated our demarches to scale up the implementation of the objectives of the OIC Ten Year Programme of Action. We are convinced that the partnerships, which we seek to consolidate in the relevant fields would serve the interests of our common Member States, much as we also seek to continue to support the global efforts for a more stable and prosperous world.

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