Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for the creation of a monetary and financial mechanism to enhance trade exchanges among D-8 member countries in order to realize the organization’s goals, IRNA reported on December 19.
“Establishing a development fund for the D-8 group for the purpose of joint investment by the Islamic member countries would be an effective step in this regard, and Iran announces its readiness to establish such a fund,” Pezeshkian was cited as saying yesterday at a meeting with D-8 Secretary-General Isiaka Abdulqadir Imam in Egypt, where Pezeshkian attended the 11th D-8 Summit.
President Pezeshkian described the D-8 organization as a vast market and an excellent platform for member countries to bolster trade, cultural, and scientific exchanges.
“We believe that if the resolutions and decisions made within the D-8 framework were effectively pursued and implemented, we would witness the eight Islamic countries benefiting to the maximum extent from the capacities of this organization,” he stated.
For his part, the D-8 secretary-general reportedly acknowledged Pezeshkian's valuable recommendations and reaffirmed Iran's key role within the D-8, highlighting its advanced capabilities in education and communication.
He expressed hope that recent trade agreements would foster economic growth in Iran and strengthen D-8 objectives, according to IRNA.
The D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, also known as Developing-8, is an organization for development cooperation among Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkiye. Azerbaijan was admitted to the organization as the 9th member on December 19, 2024.
The combined population of the eight countries is about 1.27 billion or 63% of all Muslims, or close to 16% of the world's population and covering an area of 7.62 million square kilometers, 5% of world land area.
The main areas of cooperation reportedly include finance, banking, rural development, science and technology, humanitarian development, agriculture, energy, environment, and health.
