D-8 Secretary-General, Seyed Ali Mohammad Mousavi paid a visit to the Turkey’s Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications, Lütfi Elvan, on 3 February 2014 in Ankara-Turkey. He thanked Turkey, as founding member, for its full support and assistance to the D-8.  SG Mousavi said that transportation plays a significant role in D-8 economy. He emphasized the significance of the area of transportation for D-8 cooperation and expressed his discomfort on the fact that D-8 Ministerial meetings were not held in this crucial cooperation field since the establishment of the Organization. He added that, while there remain many diverse means of cooperation on transportation such as railways, shipping, road, logistics etc, until now D-8 cooperation has been focused only on civil aviation. 

Minister Elvan recognized the importance of continued close collaboration and cooperation within D-8 countries. He supported Secretary-General’s view on the efforts to establish new working groups. Elvan stressed the issue of the D-8 Member Countries’ practices on maritime and aviation areas. “Turkey has been working on supporting the D-8 by improving overall flight volumes and civil aviation,” he added. Elvan continued: ”The trade agreements and developing cooperation with the D-8 countries depend on this legislative harmonization.”