D-8 Secretary General Dr. Mousavi had a meeting with H.E. Dr. Hatem Mohammad Abdel-Latif, Minister of Transport of the Arab Republic of Egypt, accompanied by Mr. Abderahman Salaheldin, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Ankara, in Istanbul on 10 June 2013.

During the meeting, Secretary General Mousavi expressed that at the end of 2014, D-8 will finish its first cycle when all members will complete their functions for holding the chair once, which he strongly believed will be the most appropriate moment to upgrade the Organization. He further stated that, to this end the Secretariat is preparing a new strategy soon to be submitted to the deliberations of member countries.

 

Secretary General also emphasized the significance of the area of transportation for D-8 cooperation and revealed his discomfort on the issue of not holding a D-8 Ministerial in this crucial cooperation field since the establishment of the Organization. He added that while there remain many diverse means of transportation such as railways, shipping, road, logistics etc, until now D-8 cooperation has been limited to civil aviation. 

 Responding to Secretary General Mousavi, H.E. Abdel-Latif, emphasized that to strengthen D-8 cooperation at the area of transportation, the Organization needs to draw a strategy first, with the inclusion of representatives from all member countries in order to agree on a plan for intensifying the cooperation in this field which will later be presented to Ministers. H.E. Abdel-Latif further stated that he will appoint a focal point in the area of transportation from Egypt to maintain a smooth coordination with D-8 Secretariat.