Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has called the D-8 members to take concerted and collective efforts to enable will enable the organization of Eight Developing member nations for achieving its goals sooner rather than later.
Speaking at the opening session of D-8 top envoys’ meeting here Asif said that the group has achieved significant milestones, including an accord on the simplification of visa procedures for business and a customs agreement.
In his opening remarks Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stressed that cooperation among member states has become particularly important at a time when they are facing many global challenges. He also called for cooperation on energy to improve the potentials of member states.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan is also in Turkey to attend the D-8 Summit which will kick off today.
This is the 9th Summit of eight Developing Countries including Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.
Pakistan is the current Chair of the D-8. It assumed Chair at the 8th Summit of D-8, held in Islamabad in November 2012.
The Prime Minister will hand over the chairmanship of the D-8 Summit to Turkey. The Istanbul Summit is expected to adopt a Declaration and a Plan of Action.
Major areas of cooperation in D-8 Charter are Industry, Agriculture and Food Security, Energy, Trade, Transportation and Tourism.
The 20th Anniversary of the Organization will also be celebrated on the occasion.
The Prime Minister is expected to interact with the leaders of D-8 Member States on the sidelines of the Summit.
