REPORT OF THE 26TH SESSION OF D-8 COMMISSION
DECEMBER 16-17, 2008
ISTANBUL, TURKEY

The Government of Malaysia organized and chaired the 26th Session of Developing Eight (D-8) Commission in Istanbul, Turkey on December 16-17, 2008. The meeting was attended by delegates from Arab Republic of Egypt, the Republic of Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Malaysia, Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Republic of Turkey. The list of participants is attached as Annex I.

1.    Welcoming Remarks by the D-8 Commissioner of Malaysia.

H.E. Amb. Dato’ Mohammad Kamal Yan Yahaya made welcoming remarks. (Annex II)

2.     Guest Speakers from Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEIK) and D-8 Federation of Chambers of Commerce

Ms. Zuhal Mansfield, Chairperson of Turkish-Egyptian Business Council and Mr. Abdulreza Hanjani, Secretary General of D-8 Federation of Chambers of Commerce made presentations on Enhancing cooperation among private sector business entities.

3.     Adoption of the Draft Agenda.

The Commission adopted its agenda (Annex III).

4.     Statement by the D-8 Secretary General

H.E. Dr Dipo Alam, the Secretary General of D-8 presented his Report on the work of the Organization and activities of the Secretariat since July 2008 (Annex IV).

5.     Consideration of Calendar of Events

a.         The Commission adopted the Reports of the following activities:

•    4th Working Group on Industry held on November 10-11, 2008 in Indonesia,

•    1st Working Group on Mining and Minerals held on December 11-12, 2008 in Indonesia.

b.     Calendar of Events 2009

•    A Meeting to initiate cooperation between D-8 scientific institutions, research institutes and universities in the 1st week of April in Nigeria;

•    A Meeting on Migrant Workers and Remittances in Bangladesh;

•    First D-8 International Tourism Investment Forum in the 1st week of March in Iran;

•    Two events in Malaysia on the margins of the Global Islamic Finance Conference and International and Regional Syariah Dialogue.

•    D-8 Ministerial Meeting on Food Security, on February 25-27 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

•    Experts Meeting on Automotive Industry in the last week of February in Iran;

•    D-8 Satellite Meeting on HIV/AIDS back to back with International Conference on AIDS in the Asia Pacific, in Indonesia;

•    Working Group Meeting on Transportation in Turkey.

•    Working Group Meeting on Health Tourism during the 2nd International Health Tourism Congress in February in Antalya, Turkey.

•    D-8 Ministerial Meeting and Working Group Meeting on Marine and Fisheries Cooperation on 13-14 May in Indonesia.

•    First Ministerial Meeting on Industry in July in Tehran, Iran.

•    A meeting in Egypt on one of the following topics:
o    Micro – Insurance: to provide services to farmers and other limited income families.
o    Banking insurance and studying the D-8 countries experience in this field

•     The Commission welcomed the Secretariat’s preparation of the matrix of   programs and activities based on the Roadmap, Declarations and other outcome documents and urged Member countries to submit responses.

c.    Decisions

•    Secretariat to explore the possibility of cooperation between D-8 and UNIDO-ICHET and to report to the next meeting of the Commission.
•    Egypt is the prime mover for cooperation in energy for two years starting 2009. Its main objective is to coordinate and activate the resolutions agreed upon during D-8 energy meetings.
•    Indonesia is the prime mover for cooperation in industry for two years starting 2009.
•    Egypt to provide ToR for the establishment of a Center for Energy Studies in Cairo, Egypt.

6.     Base Year for tariff reductions under D-8 PTA

The Commission agreed that the Base Year for tariff reductions is 1 January 2008.

The Commission urged that the PTA should enter into force by the end of 2009.

7.     D-8 Charter

The Commission requested the Secretary General to submit a draft Charter to the Commission at its next meeting.

8.     Consideration of Establishing D-8 Business Council

The Commission took note of the proposal to establish a D-8 Business Council. It requested the Secretary General to prepare the Terms of Reference in consultation with Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEIK) and the D-8 Federation of Chambers of Commerce and circulate among Member States for comments and consultation with the private sector.

9.     Financial situation of D-8 Secretariat in 2008.

The Commission urged Member countries to settle their outstanding dues at the earliest.

The Commission requested the Secretary General to make a report on how to resolve the question of long outstanding dues.

10.     Budget 2009 of D-8 Secretariat

The Commission adopted the Budget for the Secretariat for 2009 in conformity with Article 5 of Chapter II of Financial Regulations of the D-8 Secretariat (Annex V).

The Commission requested the Secretary General to prepare and submit a draft budget proposal for 2010 to the Member countries by March 2009.

11.     Date and Venue of the 27th Session of the D-8 Commission and the 12th Session of the Council of Ministers

Malaysia will host the 27th Session of the Commission on 13-14 June 2009 and the 12th Session of the Council of Ministers on 15 June 2009 in Kuala Lumpur, subject to confirmation of the dates.

12.    Consideration and Adoption of the Report of the 26th Session of the D-8 Commission

The Commission adopted its Report.

13.    Any Other Business

The delegation of Indonesia made a presentation on the World Ocean Conference to be held in Indonesia in May 2009.  The delegation also informed the meeting on the planned D-8 Ministerial Meeting on Marine and Fisheries to be held back to back with the World Ocean Conference. The delegation invited all relevant D-8 ministers to attend both events.

The delegation of Iran invited all D-8 members to attend the International Conferences on Investment, Tourism among Muslim countries, as well as Halal Food, to be held in Tehran on 28-30 April 2009.

The Secretary General informed the Commission about cooperation with the International Youth Foundation on drafting grant proposals to be presented to international organizations.

The Commission agreed to extend to the staff of the Secretariat the same local hospitality arrangements provided to Member countries.

The Commission took note of Turkey’s proposal to establish a D-8 Humanitarian Assistance Forum to be organized by the Turkish Red Crescent Society. Turkey will provide information on this proposal.

14.     Closing

The Chairman made a closing statement emphasizing his appreciation to all delegates for the profound and productive discussions and thanked them for the constructive outcomes of the meeting.

The delegations also conveyed their deep gratitude to the Government of Malaysia and D-8 Secretariat for the organization of the meeting. They also thanked the Chairman for his successful and practical leadership throughout the meeting.