Financial Outlook of the OIC Member Countries 2016
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The fifth Meeting of the Financial Cooperation Working Group was held on October 15th, 2015,
in Ankara with the theme of “Retail Payment Systems in the OIC Member Countries”. The
analytical study titled “Retail Payment Systems in the OIC Member Countries” was prepared to
enrich discussions during the Meeting. “Financial Outlook of the OIC Member Countries 2015”
was also prepared by the CCO for the Meeting.
The participants discussed some crucial policy issues in light of the main findings of the
research report prepared specifically for the Meeting and the responses of the Member
Countries to the policy questions that have been sent to the Member States. Accordingly, the
working group has come up with the policy advices as under:
 Increasing awareness of the benefits of modern retail payment systems through
providing education on basic financial controls and prudence as well as increasing
transparency in order to protect consumer rights.
 Exploring ways to further decrease the cost of retail payments and seeking ways for
interoperability.
 Establishing/ maintaining OIC payment systems data collection and reporting
framework.
The sixth Meeting of the Financial Cooperation Working Group was held on 17-18 March 2016,
in Ankara with theme of the “Developing Islamic Finance Strategies in the OIC Member
Countries.” In line with the relevant resolution of the 31st Session of the COMCEC, the 6th
Meeting of the Financial Cooperation Working Group also served as the preparatory event for
the Exchange of Views Session of the 32nd COMCEC Ministerial Meeting. The analytical study
titled “Developing Islamic Finance Strategies in the OIC Member Countries” was prepared to
enrich discussions during the Meeting.
The Analytical Study provided a roadmap for developing Islamic finance strategies. The road
map is designed under six components: Regulatory, Shariah, infrastructure, products and
services, initiatives, and talent development. In this context, the policy recommendations
highlighted during the Meeting were classified under 6 components in line with the roadmap
in the study; namely regulatory, Shariah, infrastructure, products and services, initiatives, and
talent development (see Box 2).
The proceedings of the abovementioned Meetings and the presentations made during these
Meetings are available on the COMCEC web page .
5.2.2 Project Cycle Management (PCM)
The other important instrument for the implementation of COMCEC Strategy is the new
COMCEC Project Cycle Management (PCM). Within the COMCEC PCM, the member countries
registered for the Financial Cooperation Working Group and the OIC Institutions operating in
the field of economic and commercial cooperation would have the opportunity to propose
concrete multilateral cooperation projects in line with the objectives, expected outcomes and
principles of the Strategy; the projects are being financed by CCO through grants.