Dr. Seyed AliMohammad Mousavi, the D-8 Secretary-General, called on Mr. Airlangga Hartarto, Minister of Industry of Indonesia on 23 August 2016 at the latter’s office in Jakarta.

The two interlocutors held a very fruitful and effective discussion in a cordial environment. Dr. Mousavi informed the Minister of the latest developments taking place within the Organization and conveyed that the Secretariat was working in full swing to implement the vision set by the Organization’s leaders. He updated the Minister with the outcome of 5th D-8 Industry Ministers’ Meeting held in Cairo in May 2016 and conveyed that the ‘Cairo Declaration’ adopted in the Ministerial plenary adopted a number of decisions to take cooperation to a newer height. He also updated the Minister with the works of Task Forces and Senior Officials’ Meeting preceding the Ministerial session. He sought the Minister’s support in furthering common agenda to consolidate the partnership among the Member States. 

Minister Hartarto warmly appreciated the Secretary-General and assured him of all cooperation. He mentioned that Indonesia always attached high importance to increasing trade and economic activities among the D-8 Members and assured the Secretary-General of all efforts on the part of Indonesia in terms of expanding trade cooperation within the framework of D-8. 

While the Minister appreciated the leadership of Dr. Mousavi in furthering the D-8 agenda rigorously, the two interlocutors also discussed the challenges and barriers facing the organization in implementing the intra-trade target as well as developing common projects in industry cooperation. He also appreciated the expectation of the Secretary-General to facilitate the D-8 cooperation. The Minister suggested that a standard framework on selection of projects should be devised and Indonesia could share ASEAN experience in this regard. 

The D-8 Secretary-General discussed the possibility of holding 6th D-8 Industry Ministers’ meeting in Indonesia in 2017 in order to see Indonesia more engaged in D-8 development activities. The Minister warmly welcomed the suggestion and assured the Secretary-General to consider holding the meeting in 2017. The Secretary-General was also updated with Indonesia’s preparation to hold two events/conferences on ‘Strengthening the awareness of Halal standards among the D-8 Member States’ and ‘Strengthening cooperation on Textile among D-8 countries’ in Indonesia in 2017.