ISLAMABAD: The 16th Session of D-8 Council of Ministers will be held in Islamabad on Thursday, during which the minister will adopt the proposals to strengthen the D-8 organization by implementing its key agreements‚ particularly the Preferential Trade Agreement‚ and to enhance the role of private sector in intra-D-8 cooperation.
The meeting of D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation is taking place in Islamabad at a time when the government is pushing ahead with its economic reforms agenda that envisages increased business and commercial linkages with other countries.
The Foreign Ministers of D-8 countries will hold bilateral meetings with Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz.
The Developing 8 (D-8 or Developing Eight) was officially founded on June 15, 1997, for the promotion of cooperation on development. The organization consists of Iran, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.
The D-8 objectives are to improve the position of member states in the global economy, diversify and create new opportunities in trade relations, enhance participation in decision-making at international level, and improve standards of living in the member states.
The group, with a population of one billion people, has a combined market value of one trillion dollars. The alliance is determined to boost its trade volume to USD 500 billion by 2018.
