Although the idea of setting up an ICM has been widely discussed in different fora of the OIC, but at the Eighth Summit Conference of OIC which , was held in Tehran. On December 9-11, 1997 , the materialization of this noble goal got a new momentum. At that session for the first time , a specific resolution on the establishment of an ICM was adopted.

Paragraph eight of the said resolution (33/8 (IS)) requested the Secretary General of the OIC to set up an expert group meeting from the member states to study the implications of establishing an Islamic Common Market. Following the adoption of this resolution the 27th Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers welcomed the offer of the State of Qatar to host the above-mentioned Expert Group Meeting. On that basis , the General Secretariat of the OIC issued invitations to member states through their permanent missions to the OIC in Jeddah, to nominate their experts for participating in that meeting. The General Secretariat also requested the IDB, the Islamic Center for Development and Trade (ICDT), the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Trading Center for Islamic Countries (SESRTCIC) to participate in the meeting and present a paper. Accordingly , the first Expert Group Meeting to study the implications of setting up an Islamic common market was organized by the General Secretariat of the OIC in Doha from 13 to 14 October 2000. In this meeting, in addition to the above-mentioned subsidiary organs and affiliated bodies to the OIC, the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and a number of experts from the OIC member countries were also present. The Deputy for Research of The Institute for Trade studies and Research together with another senior researcher of the institute participated in this expert group meeting on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran. At this meeting , the expert of the I. R. Iran was elected as rapporteur of the meeting and upon the request of the delegation of the I.R.Iran , a new item entitled . The Presentation of the Report and Recommendations of the International Seminar on Ways and Means to Establish an ICM was added to the agenda of the Meeting .This meeting after completing its deliberations submitted its report to the relevant OIC body for further discussions and decision making.

Report Of The Expert Group Meeting On The Implications Of Setting up An Islamic Common Market Doha, State Of Qatar 13-14 October, 2000 (16-17 Rajab, 1421)