23
His Excellency Mr. Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, Secretary-General of the OIC, paid a visit to Director General Prof. Mahmud Erol Kılıç at IRCICA headquarters on 3 November 2026. This visit, first after the Secretary-General’s taking the office in August 2026, took place as part of His Excellency the Secretary General’s official visit to Türkiye to attend the 42nd Ministerial Session of the OIC Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) which was opened on that day.
His Excellency the Secretary-General was welcomed by Prof. Mahmud Erol Kılıç in the Directorate General office. Following the welcoming remarks and introduction of the Centre’s activity programs and methods, Professor Kılıç guided H.E. the Secretary-General to the Library and Archive, where samples from various collections were displayed, including books, maps, photographs, and other materials relating to the history and culture of different regions of the OIC membership area. Director General Prof. Kılıç, and Library and Archive Acting Head Ms. Neslihan Sandal briefed H.E. the Secretary-General on the library management methods, acquisitions, and the valuable forty-four private collections donated by personalities from around the world.
Subsequently, H.E. the Secretary-General was guided to the Arts and Handicrafts Section, where Prof. Kılıç and the section’s officials Mr. Said Kasımoğlu and Ms. Nurcan Toprak Ayal briefed H.E. Secretary-General Mr. Ismail Ould Sheikh Ahmed about the various programs, particularly the training courses on the traditional arts of calligraphy and illumination and the editions of calligraphy worksheets published by the Centre. In the same section, the Master Calligrapher Mr. Efdaluddin Kılıç, teacher in IRCICA’s course, made a practical demonstration.
The meeting continued in the Directorate General building, where H.E. the Secretary-General also visited a display of award-winning plates from IRCICA’s calligraphy competitions. The Secretary-General was accompanied by Mr. Hamza A-Qurashi, Director of the Protocol and Public Relations Department at the OIC General Secretariat. From IRCICA; were present at the meeting Prof. Cengiz Tomar, Head of Research and Publications, together with Mr. Murat Esat Özer, Head of Administration and Finance, Prof. Sadık Ünay, Internal Controller and Consultant to Director General, and Dr. Attallah Al-Rawashdeh, Assistant Head of Research and Publications. The visit concluded with a group photo of the Centre’s staff with H.E. the Secretary-General.
