The 41^st session of the D-8 Commission was held in Istanbul on  from 1 to 2  November 2018 under the Chairmanship of the Republic of Turkey. The Commissioners and Heads of delegation from all the D-8 Member States took part in the two-day event.

In his statement, the Secretary-General highlighted the importance of engaging the private sector and SMEs as the main engine of growth, enhancement of the visibility of the Organization, establishment of direct contact with the stakeholders for a more result-oriented approach, adoption of thematical focus for tangible results and identification of areas of success as the main pillars of his vision for the project implementation phase of the Organization. He made particular emphasis on the increasing number of private sector activities and elaborated on the need for the establishment of permanent representation of Member States to the D-8 secretariat. The Secretary-General also presented the progress report on activities since June, 2018.

On his part, the D-8 Deputy Commissioner of Turkey and Chair of the meeting, Ambassador Kerem Kiratli, highlighted the progress with regards to the proposed D-8 Clearing House as means to protect Member States against turbulences in the global economy, the efforts to expedite the implementation of the PTA and the increased engagement of the private sector in the D-8 activities through the finalization of the CCI statute.

The Commission discussed the following agenda items:

• D-8 PTA and Offer lists- The Commission addressed the challenges facing the PTA in order to expedite its implementation. It also agreed that the current offer lists do not reflect the trade potential among D-8 Member States. Hence, the Member States will revise their offer lists to facilitate the attainment of the target set out by the leaders.
• D-8 Clearing House- This issue was thoroughly discussed by the session and it came up with some suggestions on how to move forward.
• Calendar of Events: The Commission discussed the upcoming D-8 events for 2018-2019:

1. 3rd D-8 Trade Ministers Council Meeting will be held on 27 November 2018 in Istanbul.
2. The Meeting of the Focal Points of D-8 University will be held from 10-11 December, 2018 in Hamadan, Iran.
3. The 12th DGCA Meeting will be held in December, 2018 in Tehran, Iran.
4. The 1st Ministerial Meeting on Transportation will be held in Turkey.
5. The 2nd Ministerial Meeting on Tourism will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2019.
6. The 6th Agriculture Ministerial Meeting will be held in Egypt in 2019.
7. The 10^th D-8 Summit will be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh

• Terms of Reference for the Project Support Fund – The Meeting agreed on the Terms of Reference for the Project Support Fund. Secretary-General informed the meeting that the Charter allows voluntary contributions from different sources, including from the private sector.
• Modalities for the Establishment of D-8 Research Center- Recognizing the financial implications of establishing a large-scale Research & Development (R&D) center, Egypt proposed setting up a R&D Council that will capitalize on the existing research facilities in the Member States. The Commission supported Egypt’s proposal.
• D-8 University- The Commission discussed the draft modality for the operationalization of the D-8 University. A Meeting of the Focal Points of D-8 University will be held from 10-11 December, 2018 in Hamadan Iran to discuss further.

Furthermore, discussions took place among the D-8 Commissioners on Decision-making Mechanisms to Permit Prompt Response to the Challenges of the New Century and on enhancing the cooperation in Science, Technology and Research among D-8 Member States (ESCTRA D-8) Cooperation platform (a central financing mechanism among D-8 Member States)

A delegation from KOMEPS FINTECH of Malaysia presented a project proposal on D-8 Payment Card. KOMEPS is working on a payment mechanism for the D-8 Member States which would offer the citizens and business community of the D-8 in particular, alternative choice of payments for financial transactions.

In the same vein, Dr. Ado J. G. Muhammad, made a presentation on “D-8 Health Partnership: Realization of the D-8’s Health and Social Protection Agenda” that entails a potential $2.7 tr GDP collective economic benefit for the group.

The Commission has approved the draft agenda of the 18th Session of the Council of Ministers which will be held on 3 November 2018.