PM Imran Khan proposes five-pronged roadmap to realize vision of D-8 Countries

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Prime Minister Imran Khan has proposed a five-point roadmap to materialize the vision of D-8 which includes mobilizing financial resources to recover robustly for the economic and health crises incurred by the COVID-19 pandemic.

While addressing the 10th D-8 Virtual Summit on Thursday hosted by Bangladesh with the theme “Partnership for a Transformative World: Harnessing Power of Youth and Technology”, the prime minister invited the D-8 leaders to consider his five-point plan and join advocacy for COVID-19 related relief measures to deal with the unique economic and financial challenges faced by developing countries as a result of the pandemic.

Imran Khan proposed taking concrete actions to achieve the target of expanding the inter-D-8 trade form currently around US$ 100 billion to US$ 500 billion by 2030. He said that it should include measures like simplification of border procedures, enhancing institutional linkages, and operationalizing new initiatives.

The prime minister said that Pakistan welcomes ideas like D-8 Payment Card which would enable transactions in local currencies.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said that D-8 should develop a Youth Engagement Strategy focused on promoting cultural, educational, scientific, and business exchange. He said that linkages should be established between educational institutions like scholarships, skill development, trainings, fellowships, joint research, and an exchange program for the youth particularly in the field of science, technology, and innovation.

Imran Khan emphasized on promoting a knowledge-based economy, increase expenditure for research and development and focus on rapid digitization. He said that technological development is a gateway to economic prosperity, particularly in the post-pandemic period when reliance of technology would be greater than ever in human history.

Prime Minister Imran Khan stressed the need to make D-8 more relevant to the lives of our citizens by promoting food security, enhancing cooperation in health, holding joint sports events, and helping each other during natural disasters.

The prime minister said that we need high-level of commitment and mobilization of financial resources by both developed and developing economies to achieve these goals. He said that partnerships between governments, international financial institutions, businesses, and civil society are essential to leverage technology, innovation, and skills to enable every young person to have all opportunities to realize their full potential.

Imran Khan expressed the confidence that our collective wisdom and commitment will bring a new vigour to D-8.