Trade Financing in Fostering Commerce in the OIC Member Countries

Abstract

The rapid progress of globalization has had a significant impact on economic cooperation between international and regional organizations since the 2000s. At the same time, regional cooperation strengthens globalization by facilitating countries’ participation. Considering developments, particularly in developed countries, developing countries have been compelled to implement reforms to secure a greater share of globalization and assume a more prominent role in international organizations. Consequently, developing countries have introduced measures and incentives for trade, production, finance, and direct investment. In this context, recent economic developments at the global level have prompted the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which has a geographically dispersed and socio-economically heterogeneous structure, to take steps towards enhancing economic relations within itself. This development is also connected to the efforts of other organizations, such as the European Union (EU), the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and BRICS, which is an intergovernmental organization composed of culturally and socio-economically similar economies. The OIC is an international organization with more than fifty Member Countries from all around the world. It was founded in September 1969 and aims to strengthen cooperation and solidarity between the Member Countries to protect the rights and interests of the Islamic World. One of the objectives of the OIC’s Charter is to strengthen intra-OIC economic and trade relations and economic well-being of Member Countries. Its collective GDP is estimated at 1.4 trillion US Dollars and encompasses nearly two-thirds of OPEC’s annual crude oil export value