Speech of H.E. Secretary General at the opening ceremony of the 12th Trade Fair of OIC member states

Date: 12/10/2009

Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt 11-16 October 2009 -------------------- Bismillahi Arrahmani Arrahim In the Name of God, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful Your Excellency, Honourable Delegates, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, Assalamu Aleykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh. Permit me to, first and foremost, express my profound gratitude to His Excellency, Al-Sayed Mohamed Hosny Mubarak, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, for his kind patronage of the 12th edition of the Trade Fair for Member States of Organisation of the Islamic Conference. I would like to extend my felicitation and best wishes to all agencies and organizations which took part in the excellent arrangements aimed at ensuring the success of this exposition. My sincere gratitude goes to the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt, through the General Organization for International Exhibitions and Fairs (GOIEF) as well as the Islamic Centre for Development of Trade (ICDT) and for their respective roles in this regard. I must also welcome all the representatives of both the Public and the Private Sectors in the member-states of the OIC. Their impressive turn-out today is evident of the importance they attach to collective prosperity and socio-economic transformation within the Muslim Ummah. The theme of this year’s Trade Fair is: “New Economic Partnership at the Service of the Ummah”. This concept accords well with the Resolution No.9/35-E, adopted at the Thirty-fifth Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers, which was held in Kampala, Uganda, in June 2008. Our Organisation has recently attached greater priority to fostering economic partnership in the interest of the peoples of the Ummah. The idea of partnership is also crucial to the on-going demarches to address contemporary challenges facing humanity as exemplified by the global economic meltdown. The significance of this Trade Fair is essentially to showcase the various products available in the member-states of our Organisation. Promotion of intra-OIC trade can only take place when all the necessary information about the capacities, resources and potentialities of our countries are available. Although, modern technology has recently enabled us through e-commerce to develop appropriate database of products existing in other countries, the essence of showcasing these products can be explained by the familiar adage which says: “Seeing is believing”. Increasing trade is therefore our focus at this Trade Fair. The OIC countries need to enhance trade relations among their peoples. It is gratifying to note that recent reports of the World Economic Situation indicate that the performance of the developing and transitional economies has brought about desired growth of the global economy in spite of the global recession. Our contribution to the world output of goods and services was as high as 40% in 2007, when contributions by developed economies nosedived because of weak demand in these countries. The stabilising role of developing and transitional economies to which most member-states of our Organisation belong is a pointer to our huge potentials. These capacities can translate into enormous economic welfare for our teeming population if we can take necessary action as a community. This Fair should be a stepping stone to the actualisation of the objective of economic integration as contained in the OIC Ten Year Programme of Action. In the aftermath of the reforms carried out in the General Secretariat and as a direct result of the various directives by OIC Heads of State and Government, various activities have been put in place to redirect the course of our joint action as a community with shared values, interests and objectives. The efforts of the General Secretariat are now geared towards encouraging active engagements among member-states in the direction of multilateral economic cooperation. It is in this regard that the project for the rehabilitation of the textile industry in OIC member-states was conceptualised and has now become very popular among them. I would like to express my appreciation to all members of the OIC Project and Steering Committees on Cotton for their efforts in ensuring the successful take-off of this project. Verily, this project has the potential of assisting a sustained growth in the vital sector of agriculture, a sector that has always remained a good source of employment for the generality of our peoples. I am indeed pleased to note that a specialized fair on cotton and textile is taking place along with this Trade Fair. This event provides an auspicious occasion for all stakeholders to meet and map-out a credible way of stimulating growth in this all-important sector. Another programme in the agricultural sector is the convening of a Forum on Food Security. Such an initiative is also informed by the need to address the challenges posed by the consequences of the global food crisis within our member-countries. The objective of this programme is to ensure that the benefits to be derived from open trade are accompanied by even spread of welfare among the vulnerable or deprived segments of our population. To this effect, the OIC is placing higher premium on poverty alleviation programmes and would encourage capacity building and the sharing of expertise in this area. Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, As you know, one of the most important pre-occupations of the OIC is to increase the intra-OIC Trade. The Intra-OIC Trade has risen to 16,6 % in 2008, from its 14,5% percent level in 2005. As a result, intra-OIC trade volume reaches 427 billion US dollars in 2008, against 420.6 billion US dollars in 2007. In 2009, the intra-OIC trade is expected to further increase, with the sole objective of attaining the threshold of 20% of world trade in 2015. As a way of boosting trade among OIC countries, a trade preferential system has been established among OIC Member States. Two very important agreements, namely the Protocol on the Preferential Tariff Scheme for TPS-OIC (PRETAS) and TPS-OIC Rules of Origin, have been finalized and opened to the signature and ratification of Member States. In this context, I would like to appeal to Member States to do their utmost to have PRETAS ratified as soon as possible preferably before the end of 2009, to enable the Ummah enter a new era of sustainable economic development and to make better use of the synergy of trade in the development process. As a result, we will be able to further our efforts to harmonize the rules of trade and put in place a common trading system. In addition to the efforts to remove the trade impediments and increase the financial opportunities, many initiatives have also taken place to establish mechanisms and implement programs to boost investment, infrastructure and productivity in Member States. Similar measures are being taken to promote integration of the various economies of member-states. Another example of such measures is the Dakar/Port-Sudan Railway line. In addition to the foregoing, the two private sector-based affiliated organs of the OIC, namely: the Islamic Chamber of Commerce (ICCI); and the Islamic Shipowners Association are already embarking on projects aimed at facilitating air and sea transportation of goods within member-states. I must not fail on this occasion to pay homage to them for good sense of mission and purpose. Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am confident that the staging of this Fair and the series of other sideline activities will create the needed synergy for the actualization of the OIC Ten Year Program of Action. It will also ensure that our Organisation is best placed to respond to contemporary challenges in a rapidly globalizing world. Finally, let me reiterate my profound appreciation and gratitude to the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt, for its continuous efforts in the service of the Islamic Ummah. The hosting of this important Trade Fair reflects the very worthy and painstaking efforts undertaken by the Arab Republic of Egypt to strengthen the joint Islamic action. I would like to express my appreciation to the Islamic Centre for Development of Trade and the Islamic Development Bank Group for enabling a number of Least Developed Countries Members of OIC to take part in the 12th Trade Fair and other sideline events. I thank you all and wish you a successful outing. Wassalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh.

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