Istanbul, Nov 29 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for stronger trade and economic cooperation among Islamic countries amid growing concerns of a global economic recession.
In an opening address to the 38th Ministerial Session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC) in Istanbul, Erdogan on Monday said that the world's economic woes have yet to be over, Xinhua news agency reported.
"Expectations of a (global) recession are rising worldwide, indicating that the light at the end of the tunnel is yet to appear," he was quoted by state-run Anadolu agency as saying.
"Advancing our trade and economic cooperation as the Islamic countries will contribute to the efforts to turn this crisis into an opportunity," he added.
The agenda of the ministerial COMCEC committee meeting includes improving transport and communications, developing sustainable and competitive tourism sectors, increasing agricultural productivity to ensure food security, and cooperation on digital transformation, according to media reports.
Turning to Turkey's efforts to alleviate the global food crisis, Erdogan said "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 grain and foodstuff were delivered to the international markets following the landmark deal signed in late July by Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, and the UN. On November 19, the agreement was renewed for 120 days.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor