ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi will leave for Turkey on Thursday to lead Pakistan’s delegation for the ninth D-8 Summit being held in Istanbul on October 20, 2017, the Foreign Office said on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif is attending the 17th Council of Ministers meeting that will precede the D-8 Summit.
Pakistan is the current Chair of the D-8 Organization which has representation of eight developing Countries including Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey. It assumed the Chair at the 8th Summit of D-8 held in Islamabad in November 2012.
Pakistan continued to hold the Chair beyond the normal period of two years. During Islamabad Summit in November 2012 two landmark documents were signed: (i) the D-8 Charter and (ii) Global Vision.
The prime minister will hand over the Chairmanship of the D-8 Summit to Turkey.
The Istanbul Summit is expected to adopt a Declaration and a Plan of Action.
Major areas of cooperation in D-8 Charter are; (i) Industry (ii) Agriculture and Food Security (iii) Energy (iv) Trade (v) Transportation (vi) Tourism.
The Istanbul Summit will, inter-alia, be an occasion to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Organization.
On the sidelines of the Summit, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is expected to interact with the leaders of D-8 Member States.
