The Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (MUSIAD) signed a memorandum of understanding to develop commercial relations and increase cooperation, held at the Developing 8 Countries (D-8) Summit held within the scope of EXPO Trade Fair 2022.
Speaking at the opening of the summit, Secretary General of the D-8 Ambassador Isiaka Abdulkadir Imam reminded that the D-8 was founded by 8 Muslim countries, namely Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran, Indonesia, Nigeria, Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey.
Noting that the D-8 Organization has made important collaborations in many sectors such as agriculture, trade, transportation, energy and tourism in the last 25 years, Imam said that the economic cooperation within the D-8 countries continues to grow day by day.
Expressing that the trade volume between D-8 countries has increased to 1.8 trillion dollars, Imam said, "In the last 20 years, there has been a 7-fold increase in trade volume. These figures are actually far below the targets we want to achieve. By increasing relations between D-8 countries, we will reach our targets by 2030 with the agreements and protocols we have made," he said.
“WE NEED TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATION”
Explaining the work they will do to improve trade between the D-8 countries, Imam continued his speech as follows:
"We need to increase communication in order for the private sector to be more involved in our relations. Organizations such as MUSIAD become much more valuable in this sense. MUSIAD EXPO is one of the biggest events in this region. I would like to thank MUSIAD for its contribution to the development of relations and trade. We really believe in both what MUSIAD does and its potential. Therefore, we will sign a memorandum of understanding to make our cooperation official. In this context, we will organize joint events with MUSIAD such as forums, seminars and some mission activities through our secretariat."
“D-8 IS GLOBAL, NOT REGIONAL”
Mahmut Asmalı, Chairman of MUSIAD, said that the D-8, which was formed by 8 Muslim countries with a population of more than 1 billion under the leadership of Turkey, has the characteristics of a global formation rather than a regional one with its principles and the geographical area it covers. Stating that the D-8 countries cover an area of more than 7.5 million square meters with a population of approximately 1.2 billion and an economy approaching 4 trillion dollars, Asmalı stated that the D-8 focuses on increasing trade and cooperation between countries.
THE MAP OF 10 YEARS HAS BEEN DETERMINED
Stating that the road map of 10 years was determined at the 10th Summit Meeting of the D-8 Organization, which was hosted by Bangladesh last year, Asmalı said, "Accordingly, member countries set their target to reach at least 10 percent of their foreign trade volumes of total D-8 trade by the end of 2030. I would like to express once again in your presence that we are ready to provide all kinds of support to reach these goals."