Istanbul: Under the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a special program for supporting Syria was launched, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Monday, adding that support of the Islamic world is extremely important in ensuring the political unity and territorial integrity of the country.

According to Anadolu Agency, President Erdogan stated that the program aims to strengthen human and institutional capacity in Syria by providing project support in areas such as training, expert exchange, needs analysis, and feasibility studies. Speaking at the 41st COMCEC Ministerial Meeting in Istanbul, Erdogan noted the heavy toll on the Syrian people over nearly 14 years, with nearly one million lives lost and millions forced to migrate, including 3.6 million to Turkey. He emphasized Turkey's ongoing commitment to support Syrian refugees and highlighted the end of atrocities in Syria with the Dec. 8 revolution under President Ahmad al-Shara's leadership.

Erdogan further stressed the importance of the Islamic world's support in maintaining Syria's political unity and territorial integrity. He noted that Syria's integration with regional economies could bring significant benefits to both Syria and the region.

The president also touched on the structure of COMCEC, advocating for the promotion of Islamic finance products to aid small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and suggesting alignment of export credits and insurance systems with Islamic principles. He encouraged more countries to join the COMCEC SME Program to benefit from its cooperative efforts.

Highlighting the global economic landscape, Erdogan pointed out the expected slowdown in global growth and the need for OIC countries to cooperate more closely. He remarked on the disparity in trade shares, noting that while member countries' per capita income has grown, their share of world trade has stagnated at 11%, far below the 25% target.

Erdogan emphasized the potential of the Islamic world, with its substantial natural resources and population, to improve its position in international trade. He called for efforts to expand the preferential trade system launched by the OIC in 2022 and urged member countries to support new-generation trade agreements to strengthen intra-OIC trade.