Foreign
Turkish president urges Islamic cooperation to ease global economic gloom
Turkish President
ISTANBUL, Nov. 28) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday called for greater trade and economic cooperation among Islamic countries amid growing concerns over a global economic downturn.


In a keynote speech at the 38th Ministerial Session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Trade Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC) in Istanbul, Erdogan said the world’s economic problems are not over yet.

“Expectations of a (global) recession are rising around the world, indicating that the light at the end of the tunnel is yet to appear,” he was quoted as saying by the state-run Anadolu agency.

“Advancing our trade and economic cooperation as Islamic countries will contribute to efforts to turn this crisis into an opportunity,” he added.
The agenda for the COMCEC ministerial committee meeting includes improving transportation and communications, developing sustainable and competitive tourism sectors, increasing agricultural productivity to ensure food security, and cooperation on digital transformation, according to press reports.
Turning to Türkiye’s efforts to alleviate the world food crisis, Erdogan said that “we believe that the extension of the Black Sea grain corridor agreement will alleviate the suffering… especially that of our African brothers.”
More than 11 million tons of cereals and food were delivered to international markets following the historic agreement signed at the end of July by Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and the United Nations. On November 19, the agreement was renewed for 120 days. ■
(Xinhua)


