Soeharto arrives in Istambul for D-8 summit
Soeharto arrives in Istambul for D-8 summit
ISTANBUL, Turkey (JP): Indonesian President Soeharto arrived here yesterday afternoon to attend a summit of eight developing nations tomorrow on economic cooperation projects aimed at alleviating poverty.
President Soeharto, who is accompanied by Foreign Minister Ali Alatas and State Secretary/Minister Moerdiono and other senior officials, is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with several leaders today.
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.
"The weekend summit is to discuss cooperation projects in trade, industry and other economic sectors," an official said here last night.
"Indonesia itself will offer cooperation in technology development," Moerdiono told Indonesian newsmen.
President Soeharto, who will address the meeting immediately after the opening speech by Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, will share Indonesian experiences in poverty alleviation with other delegates.
But hopes of economic gains among member countries have been overshadowed by doubts about Prime Minister Erbakan's hold on power, Reuters quoted analysts here as saying.
Erbakan shrugged off his domestic crisis and doubts about the D-8 project with flowing rhetoric before the summit.
"The D-8 is the organization of a new world. It is a turning point in human history, because a new world is being founded. These moves are being made in the name of all humanity," Erbakan told his Islam-based Welfare Party this week.
Turkey has failed in its efforts to assemble all eight heads of state or government for the final summit day tomorrow which follows more talks between senior officials yesterday and a meeting of foreign ministers today.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will not attend the summit and he is to be represented by Foreign Minister Amr Moussa, according to Reuters.
Outgoing Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was due to attend the summit.
Erbakan visited all D-8 countries except Bangladesh soon after coming to power last June. He fostered economic links with projects such as a US$23 billion gas deal with Iran, drawing strong criticism from NATO-member Turkey's Western allies.
Political analysts say the D-8 group, devised as a potential developing world partner to the G-7 group of rich countries, has been ill thought out in Erbakan's haste to strengthen Turkey's links with the Islamic world.
"The D-8 gives the impression of a group which has been founded hurriedly, without investigating adequately the G-7 experience," Istanbul University professor Hasmet Basar wrote in the daily Milliyet.
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'.