The D-8 Organization completed discussing crucial issues in D-8’s 24th Session Commission Meeting

Yogyakarta, Indonesia | November 30, 2007 by D-8 Secretariat

D-8 Organization held the 24th session of the D-8 Commission Meeting in cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Indonesia in Yogyakarta on 22-23 November 2007. The Meeting was chaired by H.E. Rezlan Ishar Jenie, the D-8 Commissioner of Indonesia, and attended by delegations from all member countries of the D-8, namely, the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Republic of Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Malaysia, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Republic of Turkey. Also in attendance were the Secretary General of the D-8, Dr. Dipo Alam, and the Director, Amb. Kia Tabatabaee.

The meeting was opened by Amb. Jenie, who in his opening statement underlined that the meeting was not only meant to discuss or review the progress and achievements made since the previous meeting, but also to reach consensus on crucial issues. Among the issues are the finalization of the Rules of Origin (RoO) of the D-8 Preferential Trade Agreement and the need for serious consideration of the matter of strengthening the D-8 Secretariat. In addition, while commending the successful implementation of several D-8 programmes, he also expressed concern over the postponement of a number of others.

Prior to the beginning of discussions, the delegates expressed their sympathy and condolence to the Government and People of Bangladesh who have been devastated by Cyclone Sidr.

The meeting was followed by presentation by the Secretary General of his report on the progress and achievements of D-8 cooperation since the last Session of the Commission held in Jakarta on 28 - 29 May 2007. He enumerated on the implementation of the programmes, the revised draft of the D-8 Roadmap 2007-2017 and the proposal for the D-8 Permanent Secretariat. He also mentioned that the D-8 Agreement on Simplification of Visa Procedures is yet to be ratified by some member countries and called on them to take the appropriate actions. He also wished that the Customs Agreement could be implemented as early as possible. He also referred to initiatives for D-8 cooperation with other international organisations and the importance of looking into the issue of remittances of migrant workers from D-8 countries. He also emphasised the need for D-8 countries to further optimise the usage of the D-8 website for various organisational and promotional purposes.

As regard to the Calender of Events, the meeting also agreed to put the following activities on the agenda:

a. Workshop on Financial Infrastructure Development Among the D-8 Countries on 26 November 2007 in Cairo, Egypt;
b. Third Seminar on the Regulations of Takaful on 27-28 November 2007 in Egypt, hosted by Malaysia;
c. Third Meeting of the D-8 Directors-General of Civil Aviation on 14-16 December 2007 in Istanbul, Turkey;
d. A Meeting to initiate cooperation between D-8 scientific institutions, research institutes and universities in March 2008 in Nigeria;
e. Ninth HLTO Meeting in the first quarter of 2008 in Pakistan;
f. Expert Meeting on the Roadmap and the Draft of Statutory Documents  for the Permanent Secretariat in March 2008 in Indonesia;
g. A Meeting on Migrant Workers and Remittances in April 2008 in Bangladesh;
h. Fourth Meeting of D-8 Working Group on Industry in April 2008 in Indonesia;
i. Workshop on Eco Tourism in May 2008 in Iran;
j. Fourth Meeting of Directors-General of Civil Aviation in June 2008 in Indonesia;
k. Roundtable Discussion on Care, Support and Treatment of HIV/AIDS in June 2008 in Bogor, Indonesia;
l. Workshop on Energy in 2008 in Egypt;
m. Meeting on Islamic Finance in 2008 in Malaysia;
n. Experts Meeting on Automotive Industry in 2008 in Iran.

A number of ideas also were raised during the meeting, such as the proposals to consider cooperation in the areas of petrochemicals, organic food and agriculture, and health technology. The meeting also noted the idea for the establishment of a permanent secretariat of the D-8 Chamber of Commerce by the Iranian Chamber of Commerce.

One of the most crucial issue was reiterated in the meeting, which is the importance of finalizing the RoO protocol in order to make the D-8 PTA operational. The meeting urged the members to show flexibility in reaching consensus on outstanding issues. The meeting welcomed the offer by Pakistan to convene the 9th meeting of the D-8 High-Level Trade Officials (HLTO) in the first quarter of 2008 to finalize negotiations on the RoO and the Offer List. It was agreed that delegates should have the mandate to conclude the RoO protocol.

The meeting expressed appreciation to the Secretary-General for submitting the Revised Draft of D-8 Cooperation Roadmap 2007-2017. The meeting agreed in principle on the importance of the Roadmap to serve as direction for future D-8 undertakings and that certain principles should be taken into account in formulating the Roadmap. These principles, in particular, relate to the scope and scale of cooperation as well as the specific characteristics and interests of D-8 countries. In this connection, the meeting agreed to convene an expert meeting in Jakarta in March 2008 to discuss the Roadmap in detail and that member countries were to submit written comments on the Roadmap to the Secretariat by the end of January 2008.

The meeting considered at length the proposed Set of Regulations for the Permanent Secretariat. The meeting agreed that the D-8 needs to review the Secretariat’s present transitional arrangement. The meeting also agreed that Member countries will submit written inputs and comments to the Secretariat on the proposed Set of Regulation by the end of January 2008. The Secretariat will produce a revised document, taking into account the vision, objectives and future needs of the D-8.

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To view photos taken during the meeting please view gallery by clicking here.

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