PM Erbakan opens D-8 summit
PM Erbakan opens D-8 summit
ISTANBUL, Turkey (Agencies): Turkey's Prime Minister Necmettin
Erbakan yesterday opened a ministerial meeting of eight
developing countries here in preparation for a summit which he
has masterminded.
The meeting is set to launch the Developing-Eight (D-8)
economic cooperation group, bringing together Bangladesh, Egypt,
Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey to
develop trade, industry and financial projects.
"The D-8 will take on an important role in solving the
problems of humanity in our globalizing world," Erbakan told the
meeting of foreign ministers from the eight countries in an
opening address.
Foreign ministers and senior officials from the eight Islamic
nations would finalize a statement announcing the creation of an
economic cooperation body similar to the G-7, the group of major
economic powers.
The grouping would form "a major force with a total population
of 800 million people and a trading volume of 400 billion dollars
a day," Erbakan said.
He stressed that D-8 would be open to all other countries and
"does not constitute an alternative to other regional
organizations."
Erbakan, modern Turkey's first pro-Islamic premier, issued the
idea of the grouping last October.
Outgoing Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who
steps down in August, and Indonesian President Soeharto are among
the heads of state attending tomorrow's summit.
Pakistan, Malaysia and Bangladesh will be represented by their
prime ministers, while Nigeria and Egypt have sent ministers.
The statement, baptized the Istanbul Declaration, will define
the reasons for the D-8 grouping, the basis of its cooperation
and its objectives, Erbakan said.
The declaration sits on six guiding principles, the premier
said, namely "peace, dialogue, cooperation, justice, equality,
democracy."
But doubts about Erbakan's hold on power and foreign criticism
of Turkey's military incursion into northern Iraq have
overshadowed hopes of economic gains among member countries.
Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller is hoping to take over the prime
minister's post by the end of the month to solve a crisis over
Islamist activism which has distracted domestic attention away
from Erbakan's brainchild, the D-8 Group.
Erbakan visited all D-8 countries except Bangladesh soon after
coming to power last June. He fostered economic links with
projects such as a $23 billion gas deal with Iran, drawing strong
criticism from NATO-member Turkey's Western allies.
Among planned areas of cooperation, Egypt will oversee trade,
Turkey will coordinate industry proposals, Pakistan will be
responsible for agriculture, Nigeria will oversee energy plans
and Indonesia will be responsible for human resources.
Iran will oversee telecommunication projects, Bangladesh will
deal with rural development and Malaysia will focus on
privatization, banking and Islamic insurance, or takaful.