kcist
Turkey
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D-8, also known as Developing-8, is an arrangement for development cooperation among the following countries: Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey. The establishment of D-8 was announced officially through the Istanbul Declaration of Summit of Heads of State/Government on June 15, 1997. The objectives of D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation are to improve member states’ position 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. D-8 is a global arrangement rather than a regional one, as the composition of its members reflects. Organization for Economic Cooperation (D-8) is a forum with no adverse impact on bilateral and multi-lateral commitments of the member countries, emanating from their membership to other international or regional organizations. Dr. Dipo Alam from Indonesia is currently the rotating Secretary General of the D-8 Organization with its Secretariat based in Istanbul-Turkey. Brief History of D-8 Establishment The idea of cooperation among major Muslim developing countries was mooted by Dr. Necmettin Erbakan, the then Prime Minister of Turkey, during a Seminar on “Cooperation in Development” which was held in Istanbul in October 1996. The group envisioned cooperation among countries stretching from South East Asia to Africa. Representatives from Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria and Pakistan attended the Seminar. This conference was the first step towards the establishment of D-8 and it was only after a series of preparatory meetings that D-8 was set up officially and began its activities with the Istanbul Declaration issued at the end of the summit of Heads of State and Government held in Istanbul on June 15, 1997 Purposes & Objectives According to the first Summit Declaration (Istanbul, 1997), the main objective of D-8 is declared to be socio-economic development in accordance with following principles: Peace instead of conflict, dialogue instead of confrontation, cooperation instead of exploitation, justice instead of double-standard, equality instead of discrimination, democracy instead of oppression. Thus D-8 objectives are to improve developing countries’ positions in the world economy, diversify and create new opportunities in trade relations, enhance participation in decision-making at the international level, and provide better standard of living. By the same token, D-8 is a forum with no adverse impact on bilateral and multi-lateral commitments of the member countries, emanating from their membership to other regional or international organizations. The following three phrases are quotations from the D-8 fifth Summit Declaration (Bali, 2006) which illustrates some application of the principle objectives: “We commit ourselves to work together to solve the problem of economic disparities within our countries.” “We reaffirm our commitment to enhance cooperation in the field of energy to develop alternative and renewable energy resources.” “We emphasize the importance of D-8 in contributing to the economic development of its member countries and ensure that it promotes global trade.
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