The Trade volume between D-8 countries has reached $129 billion, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh Dr. Abdul Momen, has said.
The envoy put the volume of intra-trade among member States at the inception of the organisation 25 years ago at $13 billion.
He expressed hope that within the next 10 years intra-trade will increase by 10 times or at least to $1.3 trillion.
The envoy spoke at the just–concluded meetings of the 45th Session of D-8 Commission and the 20th Session of the Council of Ministers held in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
The D-8 countries, also known as Developing-8, is an organisation for development cooperation among: Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkiye.
Speaking further, the Minister underscored the importance of youths in member countries to the overall development agenda of the D-8 organisation.
In a statement on Sunday, he called on member countries to tap into the ideas and fearless energy of the youths to bring the much-needed change, which could be utilised by providing them with education and job opportunities.
On the role of women, Dr. Momen described women power as a major force in every country, adding that the time has come to recognize their potential and involve them in economic development.
Also, the Secretary General of D-8 Organisation for Economic Cooperation, Ambassador Isiaka Imam restated commitment to the vision of the body.
While addressing the well-attended meetings of the Organisation hosted by the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Ambassador Imam briefed the Commission and the Council of Ministers on the activities and programmes undertaken in the last six months of being on the saddle, as the chief scribe of the Organisation.
He restated his commitment to his vision of increasing intra-trade relations amongst member countries of D-8, as well as increasing the visibility of the organisation within and outside member states, through project implementation and partnership with the organised private sector and development partners.
Speaking further, the Secretary General told the gathering that significant progress had been achieved in the area of trade cooperation among member states with the conclusion of all issues around Trade Facilitation Strategy (TFS) and Dispute Settlement Mechanism (DSM) of the D-8 Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA).
He added that with this positive development, the operationalisation of the PTA, which would serve as catalyst in boosting intra-trade relations among member countries, can now take off later this year as agreed to by member countries.
