SENIOR OFFICERS’ MEETING OF OIC-COMCEC MEMBER STATES

ON FOOD SECURITY

(28- 29^th September 2010, İzmir, TURKEY)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

·       Registration Form  ·       The Draft Agenda of the Meeting             Programme For Ministers      P                             Programme For Delegates ·       Participation ·       Date and Venue ·       General Information on COMCEC ·       Introduction  ·       Background ·       Objectives ·       Expected Outcomes .       Conference Hall .       The Hotel & The Guesthouse ·       Local Time ·       Working Hours ·       Weekend Holidays ·       Currency and Exchange ·       VAT & Service Charges ·       Credit Cards ·       Communications ·       Visas ·       Prayer Times .       Concept Paper on the Meeting .      Findings and Recommendations of the        IDP Workshop

Member Countries of OIC-COMCEC

INFORMATION RELATED TO THE MEETING

Participation

One delegate at senior level is expected from all COMCEC member countries and their institutions involved in field of food security, agriculture and rural development, as well as officers from the secretariat. Due to the technical nature of the meeting it is also open to participation from relevant international organizations. Turkey will cover the expenses of only one participant from each country. Accommodation fees for the rest of the participants must be paid by themselves. 

Date and Venue:

The meeting will be held on 28-29 September 2010 in İzmir, Turkey. The information regarding the location and arrangements is provided separately.

General Information on COMCEC

Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) is one of the three Standing Committees which formed at the Conference of the Third Muslim Summit in 1981. COMCEC has started its activities in Istanbul in 1884 after selecting the President of The Turkish Republic as a chairman at the Conference of the Fourth Muslim Summit in Cazablanca. (www.comcec.org)

COMCEC has adopted the “Plan of Action to Strengthen Economic and Commercial Cooperation among the OIC Member States” as a main working procedure at the first meeting in November 1984. One of the ten cooperation issues in the first Action Plan is “Agriculture and Food”. Therefore, in the Conference of the Fourth Muslim Summit in 1984, “Food Security and Agricultural Development” also determined the one of the six cooperation issues in the Action Plan. The new plan text prepared by updating the Action Plan was approved by COMCEC in 1994. 

Introduction:

As a consequence of recent global developments, food security and agricultural development have become a priority area of work for OIC. Unfortunately due to the recent food and financial crisis food insecurity in member countries has grown and collaborative actions have become more important in this respect. The OIC have established a number of actions and programs to assist member countries in their efforts to alleviate hunger and foster agricultural development and food security. In view of coherent implementation of these actions they need to be evaluated frequently and strengthened in light of recent developments.

In spite of geographic, demographic and economic differences between our countries, food security issue is our common problem. Therefore, one of the most critical agenda items of OIC-COMCEC is “food security”. In this context, during the 25^th Session of Standing Committee for COMCEC of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) held in İstanbul, Member States of OIC agreed to organize a meeting on food security, to be hosted by Turkey.  In this respect, it was agreed in the 26th Meeting of the Follow-up Committee of COMCEC, held in Antalya in May 2010 to organize the aforementioned meeting in the second half of September, namely on 28-29 September 2010 in İzmir. The meeting is organized to respond to this request in order to evaluate recent actions and develop future strategies to promote agricultural development and food security in member countries.

Background:

Recent financial crisis experienced at the foothills of the global food crisis worsened food insecurity of most of the OIC member countries. As a result, poverty and malnutrition in most OIC member states, especially in LDCs increased significantly, making the food security and achieving self-sufficiency in food supply a pressing issue. It once again reiterated the importance of food security, agriculture and rural development for improvement of livelihoods in rural areas as well as for economic development in general. Furthermore, recent developments clearly indicated the need to develop comprehensive strategies and strengthen cooperation among the member countries in this field.

Objectives:

The objectives of the meeting include evaluation of the outcomes of recent activities of the organization as preparations to the 26th session of COMCEC to be held on 5-8 October 2010 in Istanbul, Turkey. In order to produce recommendations to the session, following topics will be covered in discussions of the meeting:  

·       Evaluation of recent progress,

·       Exchanging the experiences ,

·       Collaboration and improvement with international organizations such as FAO, IFAD and WFP ,

·       Consideration of areas and means of cooperation and partnerships ,

·       Consideration of topics for project proposals.

The meeting will discuss and produce recommendations for the above mentioned topics in view of developing strategies for short, medium and long term implementation considering the outcomes of the previous meetings of different kinds as well as current global developments. These recommendations may include institutional arrangements and bringing together financial resources among the OIC states as well as expanding international cooperation with other organizations.

Expected Outcomes

The meeting is expected to produce recommendations on the action plan for promoting food security and agricultural development in OIC Member States to be submitted to the 26th session of COMCEC to be held on 5-8 October 2010 in İstanbul, Turkey. The recommendations would fall into following areas, all with an objective of promoting food security, agriculture and rural development:

·       Recommendations for national ownerships and actions,

·       Status and future of institutional structures for promoting collaboration efforts among member countries in technical and financial fields,

·       Status and future of collaboration with other international organizations.

Conference Hall          The conference will be held at Swissotel Grand Efes İzmir.        Address: Gaziosmanpaşa Bulvarı No.1 35210 Alsancak/İZMİR        Telephone: (90) 232 414 00 00        Webside: (www.swissotel.com.tr/izmir)            The Hotel & The Guesthouse          Ministers will be hosted at Swissotel Grand Efes İzmir and the other delegates will be hosted at the guesthouse unit of International Agricultural Research and Training Centre (UTAEM) in Menemen/İZMİR.         The guesthouse unit contains laundry, technical office, TV room and 69 rooms with wireless internet accession, WC-shower and 250 channel satellite TV broadcast in the lobby and in every room.  There is a mosque in the UTEAM campus. (www.utaem.gov.tr)

Local Time             Local time in İzmir is GMT + 2 hours.   Working Hours Banks are open weekdays from 8.30 until noon (or 12.30), depending on the bank, and from 13.30 until 17.00. However, there are some banks which continue to serve during lunch breaks.   Weekend Holidays In Turkey, Saturday and Sunday are weekend holiday. Therefore, official institutions and banks are closed.

Currency and Exchange

As of 01 January 2009, the monetary unit in Turkey was changed to the Turkish Lira (TL), which comes in bank notes of 5 TL; 10 TL; 20 TL; 50 TL; 100 TL and 200 TL. Smaller denominations will come in coins of 1 TL; 50 Kr; 25 Kr; 10 Kr; 5 Kr; and 1 Kr.” Kr. stands for “Kuruş”. 100 Kuruş is worth 1 Turkish Lira.

Exchange rate is around 1 USD = 1,55 TL and 1 EURO = 1,96 TL. The most recent exchange rate values may be accessed at the website of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (www.tcmb.gov.tr/yeni/eng.).

Convertible foreign currency can be exchanged at the airport, hotels and exchange offices as well as at all banks in accordance with the daily announced exchange rates at that time.

In Turkey, travel checks are rarely accepted. We recommend that you cash your travelers’ checks at the banks. ATMs can be found in even the smallest Turkish towns. Most accept international credit cards or bank cards (a strip of logos is usually displayed above the ATM). Almost all ATMs have a language key to enable you to read the instructions in English.         

VAT & Service Charges

Value-added tax, here called KDV, is 18%. Hotels typically combine it with a service charge of 10% to 15%, and restaurants usually add a 15% service charge. Value-added tax is nearly always included in quoted prices. Certain shops are authorized to refund the tax (ask).

Credit Cards

International credit cards are widely used in Turkey. Major credit cards (American Express, Visa, Diner’s Club, MasterCard, Access, JCB, Eurocard, etc.) are accepted in most establishments. Most ATMs accept international credit/bank cards.

Electricity Supply

The electrical current in Turkey is 220 volts, 50 cycles alternating current (AC). Wall outlets take Continental-style plugs with two round prongs.

Communication

Turkey has a highly sophisticated communication system. In addition to the usual postal and telephone services, GSM telephones can be used through international roaming agreements. Please contact your GSM Operator for more information. It is possible to use most cellular phones in Turkey. Public telephones have two different systems. Some of them work with cards while others work with tokens. They are both sold in post offices and tobacco shops. For international calls it is advisable to purchase cards. All over Turkey, phone numbers consists of two sections: area code with three digits and the number itself with 7 digits. Same area/city calls just the 7-digit number From area to area 0+area code-7-digit number International calls 0+0+country code + area code + number.

Visas

All participants are advised to check with the Turkish Consular Missions (where available) for visa requirements. For those participants coming from countries where there is no Turkish Consular Mission, visas will be issued upon arrival at İzmir International Adnan Menderes Airport.

Prayer Times