On 20-21 December 2022, Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) hosted the first anti-corruption ministerial meeting of the OIC member states. The event also saw the participation of international and regional organisations, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Interpol and the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units, and independent experts.

Mr. Mazin bin Ibrahim Al-Kahmous, the Head of the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha), said that the event was aimed at stepping up cooperation against corruption, money-laundering and organised crime in the OIC countries.

Mr. Hissein Brahim Taha, OIC Secretary General, highlighted that the Convention approved in the course of the event would enhance the effectiveness of the measures to prevent and combat in the OIC member states.

The Convention covers, in particular, the following topics:

• anti-corruption law-enforcement cooperation also by joining the initiatives approved by the Conference of the States Parties to the Arab Anti-Corruption Convention, which took place in Riyadh in 2022, conducting joint investigations of transnational corruption crimes, establishing mechanisms for direct and swift exchange of information and intelligence throughout investigations etc.;
• exchange of practices in the fight against such corruption crimes as bribery, embezzlement, trading in influence and others;
• joint anti-corruption training initiatives;
• establishment of the General Secretariat and regular holding of the Conference of the States parties to the Convention with a view to increasing the opportunities and mechanisms for cooperation between the OIC countries to achieve the objectives of the Convention and to promote its implementation at the domestic level etc.

The OIC countries are expected to ratify the Convention by March 2023. The event also concluded with the decision to hold the anti-corruption ministerial meeting of the OIC member states every two years.

* The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation was established in 1969 (until 2011, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference) to enhance and strengthen cooperation between its member states, ensure their active participation in international political, economic and social decision-making processes to achieve their common interests etc.

Currently, the OIC counts 57 members, making it the second biggest international organisation after the United Nations.