D-8 leaders meet today at eighth summit

President Asif Ali Zardari.—File Photo

ISLAMABAD: Leaders from the Developing-Eight countries will join heads on Thursday at the 8th D-8 Summit to find ways for a sustainable prosperity for their peoples.

The heads of state and government of the member states, Turkey, Malaysia, Iran, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nigeria, Egypt and host Pakistan are attending the summit whose theme is ‘Democratic partnership for peace and prosperity’.

The foreign leaders are: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Adviser to Bangladesh Prime Minister for International Affairs Professor Gowher Rizvi.

(The presidents of Indonesia, Iran and Nigeria and the prime minister of Turkey arrived here on Wednesday to attend the summit. The remaining leaders will be arriving on Thursday.)

The summit will be opened by the Nigerian president, the outgoing chairman of the D-8. President Asif Ali Zardari will deliver the welcome address after assuming the chairmanship.

An Islamabad Declaration will be issued on the conclusion of the summit.

The summit is expected to play a significant role in identifying problems faced by the D-8 member states and finding their solutions for a sustainable future of their one billion people.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has assumed the chairmanship of the D-8 after Nigeria completed its two-year term.

Nigerian Minister for Foreign Affairs Olugbenga Ashiru handed over the chairmanship to Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, at the 15th session of Council of Ministers on Wednesday.

The Nigerian minister opened the session and wished Pakistan the best for assuming the new responsibilities. He hoped Pakistan would play its role for the uplift of D-8 member states. Ms Khar announced that two landmark documents — D-8 Charter and The Global Vision, would be signed during the summit.

She said Pakistan had invited corporate and business leaders from D-8 states and stressed public-private partnership among them for strong trade linkages.

She called for joint efforts for strengthening the D-8 Secretariat by regularly holding business sessions to explore untapped resources of the member states.

Ms Khar said democracy was important to attain sustainable development.

On Afghanistan, she said Pakistan desired an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned solution to the problem in its neighbouring country.

Secretary General of D-8 Widi Agoes Pratikto presented a report on the activities of the Secretariat since the 31st session. The council adopted the report and the budget of D-8 Secretariat for 2013.