As a sub-sector of Transportation – one of the Five Priority Areas of the work of the D-8 Organization –the maritime sector has rapidly grown in recent years. Given the Member Countries substantial coastline and the significance of the maritime activities in their national economies, the sector has received increasing attention and focus. The early foundations for concrete progress in this area were laid in the April 2005 Seminar on the Prospects of Shipping in the D-8 Group (Karachi, Pakistan).

The Seventh Summit’s directive in July 2010 to the D-8 Commission “to explore ways of giving further impetus to the D-8 Shipping Forum’’ gave the process a strong boost. Subsequently, Nigeria held the first Expert Working Group Meeting (EWG) on Shipping in early November 2010, which was followed by the second meeting almost a year later in Abuja, Nigeria.

The main objective of the Expert Working Group Meeting was to help promote and enhance collaboration among member countries on maritime training, acquisition of sea time experience by sea farers, and harmonization and simplification of customs procedures and documentation for the facilitation of shipping of goods in transit. It also aimed at developing an action plan for programs and projects in the area of shipping logistical services.