The third ministerial meeting of the D-8 on industrial cooperation concluded in Dhaka yesterday with a call to strengthen the private sector of the respective countries.

The leaders of eight developing Muslim countries also agreed to focus on 12 emerging sectors for the economic development of the bloc, said Bangladesh's Industries Minister Dilip Barua at a press briefing at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel in Dhaka.

Industries ministers and representatives of the D-8 countries were present at the briefing. The private sector entrepreneurs from the participating countries attended 12 working group meetings and three seminars over the last three days of the conference.

The 12 emerging sectors for the D-8 countries are textile and garment;

energy and environmental conservation; food industries; technological cooperation; petrochemical and fertiliser; cement; steel; automotive; standardisation, conformity assessment, accreditation and metrology; small and medium enterprises; electronics and IT, and machinery.

“We will also explore some new areas,” Barua said.

In a 22-point "Dhaka Declaration", which the meeting adopted on the concluding day, the leaders emphasised sharing experiences and best practices in the public-private sector.

They also focused on investment and promoting market access among the entrepreneurs within the alliance.

The countries also agreed to enhance cooperation in market exploration, SMEs and industrial zone activities.

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The members will put efforts to remove technical trade barriers to boost intra-regional trade and promote bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

They endorsed a report on SMEs adopted in the third D-8 government bodies' meeting in Nigeria in June and sought its implementation.

The leaders of the forum agreed to strengthen the secretariat of the D-8 for taking effective measures to expand trade among the countries.

Mahdi Ghazanfari, industries, mine and trade minister of Iran, said his country will host the next meeting of chambers and trade bodies of the D-8 countries in Tehran next year.

The next summit of the heads of states will be held in Pakistan next month, said Raja Muhammad Basharat, industries adviser to the Pakistani prime minister.

The D-8 meeting on industrial cooperation started in Dhaka on October 8. The member countries of the alliance are Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.