The 18th General Assembly Meeting of the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC) was held in Makkah Al-Mukarramah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on 1st November 2023. 

At this Meeting, Mr Naghi Jabbarov, Director General of the Department of Economic Affairs, delivered the Message of the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at the opening ceremony. In his Message, the Secretary-General commended SMIIC on its continued commitment to promoting OIC trade activities through the harmonization of Halal standards across OIC Member States and urged States to take advantage of the fast growth in the Halal Market to enhance intra-OIC socio-economic development.

The Secretary-General also commended SMIIC for making significant progress in exploring the potential of using Artificial Intelligence to improve its level of communication with Member States. The Secretary-General also acknowledged that the SMIIC website and SMIIC Information System provide excellent opportunities for Member States to access information stored in the database of SMIIC.

The Meeting reviewed SMIIC’s report on the implementation of various resolutions and programs of activities for 2023 and approved the Work Program and the Budget of SMIIC for the year 2024.