REPORT -  Sixth Session of the Commission
1.    The Commission of D-8 held its Sixth Session in Istanbul on 26-27 January 1999. The following countries attended the meeting: Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, I.R. of Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, I.R. of Pakistan and Turkey.

2.    The closed session commenced with the opening statement by the Chairman-in-Oflicc, the Commissioner of Turkey, Ambassador Mithat Balkan.

3.    RE. Mr. Ismail Cem, Foreign Minister of Turkey, also addressed the Commission on the second day of the meeting.

4.    The Commission considered the Draft Agenda and adopted it as submitted in Document D-S/COM VI7Agenda/Rcv. Thereafter, the Commission accepted the
Work Program. Upon the suggestion by the Chairman, an open-ended drafting committee was set up.

5.    The Executive Director presented his report on D-8 activities since the last Commission meeting and future work program. His statement is contained in Annex III.

6.    The Commission first discussed physical arrangements of the Dhaka Summit on the basis ofthe information offered by the Commissioner of Bangladesh, in the end, consensus has been reached on the following points:
-    The Commission will resume in Dhaka its Sixth Session to complete unfinished work.
-    Draft Provisional Agenda of the Summit is adopted by the Commission, subject to a review at the resumed session
-    The morning of I” March will be left open for bilateral contacts between Heads of Delegations and/or, if necessary, informal consultations on unresolved matters.
-    The duration of the speeches of the Heads of State and Government will be confined to 10-15 minutes.
-    At the end of the Summit, the host country may organise a press conference it being understood that if they wish, individual delegations may also do the same separately.
-    Separate program is foreseen for the spouses.
- Sequence of speeches will be decided on the spot in Dhaka, taking into account the level of representation and existing practice

7.    The Commission agreed that the Summit Declaration might be composed of two parts, one addressing global economic issues and the second part dealing with D-8 activities. It was also agreed that the resolutions adopted by the Commission should be presented to the summit for endorsement.

8.    The Commission considered that the Summit provided an opportunity to identify new subjects for cooperation.

9.    On item 5/a regarding aquaculture. the Commissioner of Pakistan slated thai as decided at the Fifth Session, the Directory will soon be compiled on the basis of the lists of experts and scientists provided by the member countries. He also suggested that the list ff private iiading houses and firms operating in this Meld be also included in this Directory. This idea received general approval.

10.    On Agricultural Aircraft Project, the representative of the Turkey’s Under-secretariat for Defence Industry briefed the meeting and replied various questions raised by the members. He underlined the importance of determining at an early stage the quantitative needs of the member countries for the implementation of the project. Many members emphasized that the project should be a collective one with the participation, if possible, of all the member countries.

11.    The Commission reviewed the progress on the priority projects in the fields of Finance-Banking-Privatization and Poverty Alleviation and agreed to consider the idea of establishing Takaful Re-insurance Company amongst the member countries.

12.    On the project of establishment of an Industrial and Technological Data Bank Network, the Iranian delegation distributed the paper on the mini mum configuration of the project with its estimated cost. They stated that various technical aspects must be sorted out bilaterally with the member countries. For this purpose, the members are requested to name their focal points wilh their web site and e-mail addresses as soon as possible.

13.    On item 5/f concerning trade, the Egyptian Delegation briefed the commission on the prospective expert group meeting which would take place in Cairo to discuss trade related issues. They added that they were considering to convene a separate expert meeting on shipping questions. The Egyptian Delegation requested those member states who have not yet done so to give well before the meetings their replies to the questionnaires on export promotion (exchange of information) and shipping. In preparation of the first expert meeting, the Egyptian Delegation distributed an information paper on the trade financing schemes operating under IDB, which is designed to maximize the benefit of these schemes to expand D-8 intra-trade.

All the delegations agreed on the vital importance of cooperation in the field of trade. They therefore believed that the expert group meeting would be an opportunity to discuss the prc-fcasibiiity study on IMTC and finalise the terms of reference of the study. Practical steps related to trade should also be discussed in the same meeting. The Egyptian Delegation proposed the dates of 6-7 April 1999 for this meeting.

Taking into account its heavy and wide-ranging agenda, it was agreed that the member countries should properly be represented at this meeting wilh participation of experts both from government and private sectors (chambers). Indonesia supported the idea of establishing Business Services Centers and Joint Shipping Company. I.R. of Iran also favoured the idea of Joint Shipping Company.

14.    Following consultations amongst the Commissioners, it was agreed that “Promoting Rural Industrialisation by Comprehensive Approach” be implemented as a matter of priority. It was also agreed that Egypt would initiate the project and that Bangladesh as the Coordinating Country for Rural Development would collaborate on this matter.

15.    The Commissioner of Turkey briefed his colleagues about the recent meeting on AIDS Prevention and Control Program. The Egyptian delegation expressed their keen interest in this project and pronounced their intention to convene the next meeting in Cairo.

16.    On energy, the Nigerian Delegation stated that they would convene the Working Group on Energy in the near future.

17. As regards the initiation of new projects, the Commission reiterated that the criteria of feasibility, practibility and the benefit to D~8 community should fully be taken into account.

In this spirit, the following proposals have been submitted for consideration by the commission:
-    Environment (by Turkey)
-    Finance-Banking-Privatization (by Malaysia);
*    Training course for a duration of around two weeks for a maximum
seven officers per year from each member country (the details will be
circulated in due course by the Office of Executive Director).

* Seminar on Islamic Banking and Finance for D-8 countries in mid-July 1999 to discuss theoretical and practical aspects on islamic banking and financial system implemented in Malaysia. * Convening a joint meeting of experts and decision-makers on social safety nets in the fiscal year 1999-2000 with a view to sharing experience and information on social safety nets activities and pooling expertise and resources {by Indonesia).
-    Three proposals by the I.R. of Iran;
*    Establishment of a Confederation amongst the D-8 Chambers of Commerce
*    Establishment of Technical Consulting Association
*    Easing visa formalities for businessmen within D-S.

18.    The members have in general responded favourably to these new ideas. Nevertheless, in the case of the Confederation amongst the D-8 Chambers of
Commerce, it was thought that this matter might be considered with the presence of the private sector representatives in the expert group meeting which will take place in Cairo on 6-7 April 1999.

Concerning the Technical Consulting Association, the Commission felt that it would be better to proceed in the light of replies which are expected to be given by the member countries to the Iranian proposal before the resumed session.

Regarding the proposal made by the Iranian delegation to convene a meeting of ministers of trade and economy, the members felt the need to continue consultations on the matter and the timing of such a meeting.

19.    Some delegations also indicated their intention to propose to the resumed
session the following projects:
-By Egypt:
•    Establishing of a network of capital markets and stock exchanges for D-8
•    Negotiating an agreement for the avoidance of double taxation within D-8
•    Negotiating an agreement for the promotion and protection of investments within D-8
•    Modalities for simplifying and coordinating banking procedures.

-By I.R. of Iran:
•    Agreement to encourage and support investments within D-8
•    Agreement for avoidance of double taxation and removal of non-tariff barriers
•    Overall agreement on trade amongst the member countries
•    Conclusion of an agreement on banking and insurance

20.    Following informal consultations, the members agreed on the need to create a permanent unit (coordinating center) to fulfil conference and secretarial services. However, it did not seemed possible to realise this before the Dhaka Summit.

Accordingly, the Commission suggested the Government of Turkey to kindly continue to provide the services of the Executive Director till the Cairo Summit where a final decision was expected to be taken on this matter. The Commissioner of Turkey agreed to this suggestion, for which the members of the Commission expressed their deep appreciation to the Government of Turkey. The question of liaison with OIC and other international organisations will be taken up at the resumed session.

21.    Under the agenda item “any other business”, the Commissioner of Indonesia raised the modalities of cooperation. He stated that some member countries might have expertise on certain specific fields and that they might therefore be better placed than coordinating countries to organise workshops, seminars, etc. with a view to sharing their experience in these fields. In this case, meetings might be arranged in close collaboration between the coordinating country and the one with expertise, while the main focus remains with the former. In this connection, it was also suggested that D-8 might utilise the experience and practice of other international organisations.

22.    The Commission approved 10 resolutions. The Commissioners exchanged views on elements of the Dhaka Declaration. Bangladesh offered to prepare a Draft Declaration for discussion at the resumed VI. session of the Commission al Dhaka.

23.    The Commission reiterated its sincere appreciation of the excellent role played and work undertaken by the Executive Director and his staff in coordinating D-8 activities, including facilitation of the meeting of the Commission.

24.    The Commission expressed its profound thanks to the Government of Turkey for its generous hospitality and excellent arrangements.