Qatar Engages in Strategic Economic Talks at 40th COMCEC Ministerial Session in Istanbul.

Istanbul: The State of Qatar actively participated in the 40th ministerial session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC) in Istanbul. The session concluded on Tuesday, with HE Minister of Commerce and Industry Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Qassim Al-Thani heading Qatar's delegation. According to Qatar News Agency, the session opened with a keynote address by HE President of the Republic of Turkiye and Chairman of COMCEC, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Qassim Al-Thani, speaking on behalf of the Arab Group, underscored the significance of enhancing economic and commercial collaboration within COMCEC's framework amidst global shifts. He stressed the session's role as a platform to adopt initiatives that boost intra-trade among OIC member states and tackle trade and investment barriers, aiming to meet the OIC Ten-Year Action Plan goal of elevating intra-trade to 25 percent by 2025. HE the Minister noted that 27 OIC member states have already hit the target for increasing intra-Islamic trade. He expressed optimism for increased efforts to enable other member states to achieve this by next year, thereby reinforcing trade among Islamic countries. He voiced confidence that the resolutions and recommendations from this session would enhance cooperation mechanisms and promote intra-trade among OIC member states, highlighting the potential for bolstering both bilateral and multilateral economic and commercial ties. The Minister concluded by pointing out that the platform opens new opportunities for joint investments and improving e-commerce capabilities of member states via digital transformation technologies, contributing to the collective prosperity of OIC nations. The session reviewed the implementation report of the COMCEC strategy and the OIC 2025 Executive Program. The OIC General Secretariat presented a progress report on the 2025 Work Programs milestones. Key agenda topics included discussions on global econom ic trends, financial cooperation, transportation and communications improvement, tourism sector enhancement, agricultural production increase, food security maintenance, and digital transformation progress. The meeting also explored "digital transformation of payment systems in OIC member states," and addressed intra-trade issues, with delegation heads discussing mutual interests and the private sector's role in economic cooperation. The Islamic Center for Development of Trade reported on recent private sector developments. Established in 1981, the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC) serves as the primary multilateral economic and commercial cooperation framework within the Islamic world. On the meeting's sidelines, HE Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Qassim Al-Thani conducted bilateral talks with HE Minister of Commerce in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi, and HE Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade in the Arab Republic of Egypt, Eng. Hassan Al Khatib. These discussions reviewed the trade and investment relations between Qatar and both Saudi Arabia and Egypt, exploring ways to further advance these relationships.