PM arrives in Turkey to attend D-8 Summit

ISTANBUL: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi arrived in Turkey on Thursday to lead Pakistan’s delegation at the 9th D-8 Summit being held in this historic Turkish city from October 19 to 21.

He was received at the Ataturk International airport of Istanbul by Deputy Governor of Istanbul Mehmet Ali Ulutas. Ambassador of Pakistan in Turkey Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi and senior embassy officials were also present.

With Pakistan as the current chair of D8, an organization of eight developing nations including Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey, was established in 1997.

Pakistan assumed chair at the 8th Summit of D-8, held in Islamabad in November 2012. Pakistan continued to hold the Chair beyond the normal period of two years. During Islamabad Summit in November 2012 two landmark documents were signed: (i) the D-8 Charter and (ii) Global Vision.

Prime Minister Abbasi will hand over the chairmanship of the D-8 Summit to Turkey. The Istanbul Summit is expected to adopt a Declaration and a Plan of Action.

Major areas of cooperation in D-8 Charter are; (i) Industry (ii) Agriculture and Food Security (iii) Energy (iv) Trade (v) Transportation (vi) Tourism.

The D-8 has a combined GDP of $3.7 trillion and includes more than one billion people — around 15 percent of the world’s population.