Indonesia and the collective dream of the D-8 nation

For decades, many developing countries have lived in a position of waiting. They waited for investment from wealthy nations, awaited permission and approval from global financial institutions, or anticipated praise for complying with economic reforms—from subsidy reduction and privatisation of public services to budget austerity—measures that often felt painful to their populations.

Prolonged waiting was considered natural, as though it were simply the destiny of development. The problem is that the world changes faster than this habit of waiting. Financial crises, pandemics, and wars have kept developed nations occupied with saving themselves.

In such circumstances, developing countries have begun to realise that the window for waiting is not only narrowing but also brings uncertainty.

It appears from this awareness that developing nations have begun to reconsider the importance of cooperation amongst themselves—not to challenge anyone, but to reduce dependence on traditional centres of power.

One such cooperation effort is the formation of the Developing-8 (D-8). This is a cooperation forum of eight developing nations, comprising Indonesia, Turkey, Malaysia, Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, and Nigeria.

These countries share a clear commonality: they have large populations and broad markets, yet have historically been positioned more often as parties waiting for opportunities rather than as actors shaping global policy direction.

In this context, D-8 feels relevant. It emerges as a signal that some developing nations are moving away from a culture of waiting, and are gradually attempting to build their own cooperation channels, outside the orbit previously determined by others.

D-8 was not born from illusions of becoming a great power, but rather from awareness of a very concrete need: the need to support one another in a world increasingly unfriendly to latecomers. When room to manoeuvre narrows and the rules of the game become increasingly selective, standing alone becomes the weakest option of all.