The Republic of Türkiye hosted the Third Ministerial Meeting of the Trade Preferential System among the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (TPS-OIC), on June 11, 2024, in Ankara.
In his opening remarks, Minister of Trade of the Republic of Türkiye Mr. Ömer Bolat emphasized the importance of unity and collaboration in overcoming the economic pressures caused by geopolitical tensions, increasing protectionism, and the global inflationary process. Mr. Bolat underscored the importance of closer cooperation in updating the current goals to boost intra-OIC trade, as set forth by the OIC 2025 Action Plan.
Looking forward, the discussions at the TPS-OIC Ministerial Meeting laid the groundwork for future cooperation and identified new areas for collaboration, namely, the inclusion of trade liberalization in services, investment promotion and trade facilitation. The Meeting instructed the Secretariat of the TPS-OIC Trade Negotiating Committee to conduct a study on benefits, challenges, and potential of the TPS-OIC by taking into account the international best practices.
The Secretariat of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) was represented by Mr. Zahid Abbasi, Director of Trade and Investment, and Mr. Mehmet Cetik, Program Officer.
The TPS-OIC aims to foster trade among OIC member states by providing preferential trade agreements that reduce tariffs and other barriers. All ECO member countries are members of the OIC, as well. However, only three countries (Iran, Pakistan, and Türkiye) are members of both ECO and TPS-OIC.
