1.    The Government of the Republic of Indonesia hosted the 23rd Session of Developing Eight (D-8) Commission in Jakarta on 28-29 May 2007. The Meeting was attended by delegates from 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 was the Secretary General of the D-8, Dr. Dipo Alam. The list of delegations is attached as Annex I.

2.    The Meeting was chaired by H.E. Ambassador Rezlan Ishar Jenie, the D-8 Commissioner of Indonesia. In his opening statement, Ambassador Jenie underlined the importance of the meeting not only to evaluate the progress and achievement of D-8 after one decade of cooperation but also to consider ways and means in enhancing the D-8 cooperation for the coming decade. He further highlighted the implementation of the program of activities, while expressing concern on the postponement of several agreed programs. He called upon the member countries to collaborate for greater effectiveness and efficiency in order to lift the cooperation into a higher level that would contribute to national development and the benefit of the people of D-8 countries. Ambassador Jenie also congratulated the new Secretary General for assuming his duties and thanked Ambassador Slamet Hidayat who had temporarily functioned as Acting Secretary General of D-8. The full text of his statement is attached as Annex II.

3.    The Meeting adopted the provisional agenda as attached in Annex III.

4.    The Secretary General of the D-8 presented his report on the development of the organization since the last Session of the Commission in Jakarta on 12-13 November 2006. The report covered a review of the outcome of agreed activities, the working visits he conducted to some countries and international organizations, a proposal for the permanent Secretariat and a preliminary draft of D-8 cooperation Roadmap 2007-2017, including newly proposed programs for future cooperation. He also informed the meeting of the establishment of the D-8 Website and database aimed at drawing public awareness about D-8.

5.    The Meeting discussed the report of the Secretary General and exchanged views on some issues of importance to the member countries such as lack of attendance in scheduled activities, the need to immediately finalize the Rules of Origin (RoO) protocol, the pending issues from the last Commission meeting and the private sector participation in D-8 activities. The Meeting thanked the Secretary General for his comprehensive report. The report of the Secretary General of the D-8 is attached as Annex IV.

6.    The Meeting listened to the presentations of the reports of the meetings that have been convened since the 22nd Session of the D-8 Commission, which were:

a.    the First Meeting on Ecotourism held in Tehran, Iran on 13 November 2006;
b.    the 7th Meeting of the HLTO held in Islamabad, Pakistan on 18-19 December 2006;
c.    the Workshop on Data Collection, Classification and Management of SMEs held in Islamabad, Pakistan, on 12-13 March 2007;
d.    the D-8 Capacity Building Programme on the Settlement of Disputes in International Trade, Investment and Intellectual Property and through Regional Mechanisms held in Jakarta, Indonesia, on 27-29 April 2007;
e.    the 8th Meeting of the HLTO held in Islamabad, Pakistan on 3-4 May 2007; and
f.    the 3rd Meeting of the Working Group on Industry held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 22-23 May 2007.

The Meeting considered and adopted the reports of the aforementioned meetings which are attached as Annex V.

7.    The Delegations conveyed their appreciation to the member countries that have convened the aforementioned meetings. They underlined the importance of concluding the negotiation on the Rules of Origin Protocol and the Offer List to launch the D-8 PTA immediately.

8.    The Delegations expressed their concern on the postponement of the agreed programs of activities and agreed that in order to avoid future postponements; member countries should reinforce the decision of the 22nd Session of the Commission on the need to provide Terms of Reference (TOR) 3 months before the implementation of events. It was also agreed that event would be postponed should there be no response from a minimum of 5 (five) member countries at least 7 (seven) working days before the announced date of the event.

9.    With regard to the discussion on Calendar of Events, the Meeting agreed to first register the activities where the members were willing to host, while the new activities proposed by the Secretary General will be taken into consideration. The Meeting agreed to put the following activities under the Calendar of Events:

a.    Workshop on Emerging Threats and Opportunities of Globalization for Rural Development on 24-28 June 2007 in Bangladesh;
b.    Workshop on Eco Tourism on 27-28 August 2007 in Tehran, Iran;
c.    Workshop on Health Technology cooperation (Spinal Cord injury, Bioflesh,  safe and efficient drugs for HIV carriers and AIDS patients) on 29-30 October 2007 in Tehran, Iran;
d.    Meeting of the Directors General of Civil Aviation tentatively scheduled for  the beginning of September 2007 in Antalya, Turkey;
e.    The 11th Meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers will be held in 2007 and will be preceded by the 24th Session of the D-8 Commission;
f.    Fourth Meeting of D-8 Working Group on Industry on April 2008 in Indonesia;
g.    Workshop on Energy and Investment, to be hosted by Egypt;
h.    Meeting on Islamic Finance to be hosted by Malaysia;
i.    Workshop on Financial Infrastructure Development in Takaful to be hosted by Egypt.
j.    A meeting to initiate cooperation between D-8 scientific institutions, research institutes and universities to be hosted by Nigeria;

10.    The Meeting has taken note of the suggestion by the delegation of Iran to convene Ministerial Meeting on Tourism including Tourism Exhibition. Further consultation will be conducted in this regard. The Meeting further took note of the offer by the Delegation of Pakistan to host HLTO Meeting subject to understanding that prior to the meeting the Secretariat would have already coordinated with the member states to reach a conclusion on the RoO Protocol by the end of 2007.

11.    The Delegations emphasized the importance of involving the private sector in D-8 programs in order to make the D-8 activities more effective in addressing the developmental needs of the respective D-8 countries.

12.    The Delegations gave their initial comments on the Preliminary Draft of D-8 Cooperation Roadmap 2007-2017 submitted by the Secretariat. It was agreed that member states will forward their written comments to the Secretariat in two months time and the Secretariat will improve the draft.  The revised draft will be discussed in further details at the next Session of the Commission. The Delegations also expressed their wishes that the Roadmap shall serve the purpose and objectives of the D-8.

13.    The Meeting expressed its appreciation to the Secretary General for preparing a set of proposals, including  regulations on Staff, Financial and Budgetary matters for the future permanent Secretariat. Bearing in mind the temporary arrangements of the Secretariat, the Meeting considered the need to finalize the proposal before the 6th Summit of the D-8 on 2008 in Kuala Lumpur. It was agreed that member countries will study the proposal and submit inputs and comments on this matter before the next Session of the Commission. The proposal is attached as attached in Annex VI.

14.    The Meeting agreed to the proposal of the Secretary General to mark the Tenth Anniversary of the D-8 by issuing a short congratulatory message from the D-8 Heads of State/Government and Foreign Ministers. The messages would be posted on the website of the D-8 and other relevant institutions in D-8 member countries.

15.    The Meeting took note of the request of the Government of the Republic of Turkey to other D-8 countries to support her nomination to host World Expo in Izmir in 2015.

16.    The Commissioners and the other delegations expressed their sincere appreciation to the Government of the Republic of Indonesia for hosting the Meeting, the warm hospitality and the excellent arrangements made for the Meeting.