Bangladesh to host four-day D-8 conference from Apr 5

Bangladesh is hosting the 10th Summit of the D-8 Organisation for Economic Cooperation beginning on Apr 5 virtually.

The conference of the bloc, also known as Developing-8, will end through the summit of the top leaders of the eight countries on Apr 8, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will preside over the summit and head the Bangladesh delegation. Heads of state or government of the D-8 countries will also speak  

The other countries in the organisation for development co-operation are Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkey.

Bangladesh will take over as the head of the organisation for the next two years from Turkey at the conference, Momen said.

He noted that the conference is being held when Bangladesh is celebrating Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s birth centenary and the golden jubilee of independence.

The conference will create new opportunities for Bangladesh to highlight its progress in the international arena and expand multilateral diplomatic cooperation.

The foreign minister will head the Bangladesh delegation in the 19th D-8 Council of Ministers on Apr 7 as part of preparations for the summit. The 43rd Session of the D-8 Commission will be held on Apr 5 and Apr 6.

The D-8 Business Forum and the first D-8 Youth Summit will also be held on Apr 5.

The D-8 nations are expected to take a collective policy stand on the issues related to international economic and trade as well as inter-D8 cooperation on six fields – trade, agriculture and food security, industry and small and medium enterprises, transportation, energy and mineral resource and tourism.

Bangladesh has launched a website - d8dhaka.com – where information on the bloc will be published in the two years when the country will chair the organisation.

The organisation was established in 1997 at the first summit held in Istanbul. Bangladesh hosted the second summit in 1999.