Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), Ambassador Halil Ibrahim Akca participated in the “9th Summit of the Developing Eight Organization for Economic Cooperation” which was held on 20 October 2017 in Istanbul, Turkey.
Marking the 20th anniversary of the D8 under the theme of “Expanding Opportunities through Cooperation”, the Summit was attended by Nigerian President H.E. Muhammadu Buhari, Azerbaijani leader H.E. Ilham Aliyev, Pakistani Prime Minister H.E. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Iran's First Vice-President H.E. Eshaq Jahangiri and the Vice-President of Indonesia H.E. Jusuf Kalla.
In his remarks, Turkish President H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdoؤںan, who hosted and chaired the Summit, recalled the founding principles of the Organization and highlighted the huge capacities and resources of the 8 Member Countries and the existing potential for expansion of cooperation among them. He particularly underscored the need for trade facilitation among Member Countries and expressed his conviction that Members Countries will experience significant boost in their trade if using their national currencies.
At the end of the Summit, “Istanbul Declaration 2017” and “D-8 Istanbul Plan of Action” were adopted.
The “Developing Eight Organization for Economic Cooperation”, known as the “D8”, was founded by then Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan in 1997. Formed as an economic alliance, the body consists of Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.
