***The roadmap, which was endorsed during the Kuala Lumpur Summit in 2008, is aimed at encouraging greater economic cooperation among member states and assisting in mobilising resources from governmental and private sectors in implementing D-8 projects.***
PRIME Minister Sheikh Hasina is to leave Dhaka for Abuja (capital of Nigeria) in the early hours of July 7 to attend the 7th Developing-8 Summit on July 8, and will leave Abuja on July 9 and arrive in Dhaka on July 10.
The summit is held after every two years. Nigeria is to hold the 7th Summit during July 4-8. The theme of this year's Summit is "Enhancing Investment Cooperation among D-8 Members.'1 Among the important topics of the summit would be the D-8 Roadmap for Economic Cooperation (2008-2018).
The last summit took place in Malaysia in 2008. Dhaka held the summit in 1999. In the summit, Malaysia is also set to hand over the chairmanship to Nigeria.
All the summits are held with a view to improving the well being of the people of the G-8 in a global economy. Also, it is aimed at boosting the participation of member states in the decision making process at the international level.
The initiative of D-8 was taken during the tenure of Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan. The group was established after an announcement in Istanbul, TUrkey, on June 15, 1997. Membership is open to other countries, though no expansion is currently planned.
The Developing 8 (D-8 or Developing Eight) is a group of developing countries with large Muslim populations that have formed an economic development alliance. It consists of Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey
The combined population of the eight countries is about 60% of the Muslim people, or close to 13% of the world's population.
The main areas of cooperation include finance, banking, rural development, science and technology, humanitarian development, agriculture, energy, environment and health
The objectives of D-8 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 standards of living.
In 2006, trade between the D-8 member states stood at $35 billion, and it was around $68 billion in 2010. Transactions between the 8 developing countries account for 3.3% percent of world trade. The figure is projected to reach 10%-15% percent in the next few years.
The roadmap, which was endorsed during the Kuala Lumpur Summit in 2008, is aimed at encouraging greater economic
cooperation among member states and assisting in mobilising resources from governmental and private sectors in implementing D-8 projects.
Before the heads of state/government meet, there will be a meeting of governors of central banks to address the challenges of fiscal and financial policies, and of heads of chambers of commerce to focus on business and investment promotion.
The summit in Nigeria will reinforce and sharpen economic cooperation among member countries through sharing of expertise in the fields of energy, transport, tourism, banking, financial institutions, infrastructural development, human resource development, science and technology, migrant workers and remittances, small and medium scale enterprises, as well as information and communication technology.
During the meeting, Nigeria is expected to launch a project-driven investment fund to promote business growth among D-8 countries.
The summit will focus on the involvement of the private sector as the main driver of the economy. It will address the areas of investment, customs matters, visa processing and other related matters with a view to promoting economic development.
The Abuja Declaration will be released at the end of the summit. This declaration will address issues that could help cushion the effects and challenges facing D-8 member states on global economic recession, world trade, energy, transportation, climate change and global warming as they affect agriculture, food and security.
The Developing- 8 Group is divided into three bodies — summit, council, commission.
The summit has the highest level of
authority, and is composed of the leaders of each member state.
The council is the principal decision making body and forum for consideration of issues relating to the D8, and is composed of foreign ministers from each memberstate.
The commission has executive authority, and is composed of commissioners appointed by each member state's government. Commissioners are responsible for promoting compliance of D8 directives in their respective nations.
An executive director is appointed by D8 members to facilitate communication and to act in a supervisory capacity during each summit or lower-level assembly
On the sidelines of the summit, the prime minister is expected to discuss bilateral relations with Nigeria. With more than 155 million people, Nigeria is Africa's largest democracy and has the second largest economy. The oil rich country is also known as the "Land of Opportunities" for its huge economic potential.
The Bangladesh prime minister, on June 28, underscored the need for collaboration in the scientific, education, agriculture and energy sectors, and cooperation in investment and information technology, when the Nigerian Special Envoy Ambassador M.K. Ibrahim called on her to extend an invitation to attend the summit.
On bilateral relations, she said that Bangladesh attached due importance to its relations with Nigeria. The prime minister and the Nigerian envoy hoped that the existing friendly bilateral relation between Bangladesh and Nigeria would be strengthened further by the visit.
Barrister Harun ur Rashid is a former Bangladesh Ambassadorto the UN, Geneva.