5
The Working Group has come up with the following policy recommendations in order to address the
challenges faced by the Member Countries regarding the border agency cooperation:
1.2. Other Trade-Related Developments and Activities Organized by OIC Institutions
TPS-OIC:
TPS-OIC is the most important project of the COMCEC in the field of trade, based on three agreements,
namely the Framework Agreement, the Protocol on Preferential Tariff Scheme (PRETAS) and the Rules
of Origin. With the ratification of all three agreements by at least 10 Member States, the legal basis of
the System was completed as of August 2011.
In order to make the TPS-OIC system operational, 10 Member States have to fulfill two conditions at
the same time: The ratification of the three TPS-OIC Agreements and the submission of the list of
concessions to the TNC Secretariat. Since the 31 st Session of the COMCEC, the Islamic Republic of
Iran has conveyed its concession list to the TNC Secretariat and the number of countries fulfilling the
conditions of the TPS-OIC system has reached to 13. The List of the Member Countries signed/ratified
TPS-OIC Agreements can be reached at:
Moreover, the consultative meeting of the Ministers of Commerce of the participating states held on the
sidelines of the 31st Session of the COMCEC, reached a common understanding on the deadline of
March 1st, 2016 for the full implementation of the TPS-OIC. Accordingly, the 31st Session of COMCEC
invited all participating states which have ratified the TPS-OIC Agreements and submitted the
concession lists, to finalize the necessary procedures, which include updating the previously submitted
concession lists and notifying the TNC Secretariat on the relevant internal measures to be undertaken
for the implementation of the TPS-OIC Rules of Origin by March 1st, 2016. As of September 2016, 6
Member Countries, namely, Turkey, Malaysia, Pakistan, Jordan, Bangladesh and Iran have conveyed
their updated concession lists to the TNC Secretariat.
Furthermore, the Islamic Centre for Development of Trade (ICDT) continues to organize awareness-
raising events and seminars on TPS-OIC and its protocols for the government officials and private sector
in the member countries. Within this framework, ICDT organized the Training Seminar for the Benefit
of the African Member Countries on the “Trade Preferential System among the OIC Member States
(TPS-OIC)” in Casablanca, Kingdom of Morocco, on 28-30 March 2016. Another seminar has been
POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE 8th MEETING OF THE TRADE WG
 Promoting the adoption of international standards in customs and other relevant cross border
trade and logistics matters as well as accession to the relevant international conventions for
harmonizing and simplifying rules and procedures related to the cross border trade and
logistics operations,
 Promoting mutual recognition arrangements/agreements for border controls and trusted
traders,
 Enhancing information exchange among the border agencies of the Member Countries through
enhancing connectivity of information and communication technology systems, providing
regular knowledge exchange platforms and participating in relevant international networks,
 Improving the infrastructure of land border crossing points and transport connectivity through
the joint efforts of the neighboring countrie,s e.g. through establishing joint technical/working
committees, which include relevant stakeholders to identify the factors which cause bottlenecks.