OIC countries move to boost trade

OIC countries move to boost trade

Agence France-Presse, Kuala Lumpur

Members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) will launch a preferential trading system that will cut tariffs in order to boost trade, a Malaysian minister reportedly said on Friday.

International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz said about 15 OIC countries will finalize the system by September.

"This means we can give better market access to each other," she told the official Bernama news agency, adding that trade between OIC members only constituted 12.7 percent of global trade.

Besides moves to cut tariffs, the minister also called on the private sector in OIC countries to be more active.

"Unless we make the private sector see the OIC's internal potential, we will not enhance the current low level of trade and investment linkages, with much of the trade conducted among a few of the more developed countries," she said.

Malaysia is to host an OIC Trade forum next week in conjunction with the annual board of governors meeting of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), which comprises 55 OIC members.

As the current chair of the 57-member OIC, Malaysia has been pushing for greater economic integration in the grouping and for nations to develop their Islamic finance sectors.

Malaysia says the group's economic potential is largely untapped.

Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop on Thursday said Malaysia will lobby IDB nations for the creation of a bond fund to finance infrastructure development in poor member countries.

"We have to ensure the resources from the bond are well spent and that there is a repayment mechanism by the central banks. But if we do it well, the viability is assured," he told Bernama.