D-8 IN LINE WITH G-8

The summit meeting of eight developing Islamic nations or the D- 8 Group was held in Malaysia. D8 comprises eight developing Muslim nations — Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey. It’s secretariat is based in Istanbul, Turkey. Iran presented a set of proposals at the session for advancement of the organization which is considered as one of the economic limbs of the Islamic Conference Organization. The proposals were welcomed by the summit. The Iranian proposals are intended towards strengthening the convergence of the Islamic Umma It is their fundamental requirement, especially at the present juncture when globalisation in all its dimensions, especially the economic one, has turned into a challenge for the developing or semi-developed countries. Iran’s plans that were presented by President Dr Mahmud Ahmadinezhad at the Malaysian summit and welcomed by the leaders included a strategic plan or road map for the next 10 years for the group. According to the plan and the delineated outlook, experts have calculated that the volume of commercial and economic exchanges among the D-8 Group will amount to 20 per cent of their exchanges by 2018. If that could be realised, it could be a valuable step towards bringing the Muslim nations and governments closer to each other. The D-8 Group covers one billion of the population of the globe and a work force of about 400 million.