The D-8 Secretary-General, Ambassador Dato’ Ku Jaafar Ku Shaari, paid his maiden visit to Ambassador Kerem K?ratl?, the alternate Commissioner of Turkey and Director General for Bilateral Political Affairs for the Middle East and Africa at the latter’s office in Ankara on the 6th of February, 2018. 

The two interlocutors held fruitful discussions in a cordial environment and exchanged ideas on substantive issues. Ambassador K?ratl? congratulated the Secretary-General for his appointment as the new Secretary-General of D-8 and expressed confidence that his cognate experience and leadership qualities would help in achieving the D-8 agenda. He reiterated the importance of the 9th D-8 Summit held in October, 2017 in ?stanbul as a milestone in the life cycle of the Organization and highlighted the new vision set by the Honourable President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdo?an in order to reinvigorate the Organization.  He also spoke on the issues of reviewing the decision-making mechanism and enlargement of the Organization as envisioned by the Honourable President at the last Summit. 

The Secretary-General expressed his appreciation to the government of Turkey in general and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in particular for hosting the 9th Summit successfully as well as the continuous support provided to the D-8 Organization. He briefed Ambassador K?ratl? on the new ideas introduced to enhance the work of the Secretariat, including the new Matrix Monitoring System and the Manual Work Procedure. He added that in line with the ?stanbul Declaration 2017 and the Plan of Action, the details of the D-8 Project Fund and the D-8 Clearing House are being worked out. 

Ambassador Ku Jaafar also called on the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Ambassador Ümit Yalç?n, at the latter’s office in Ankara on the 7th February, 2018.  The Secretary-General briefed Ambassador Yalç?n about the latest developments taking place within the Organization and informed that the Secretariat is working hard to implement the vision outlined by the Organization’s leaders, the President of Turkey in particular, at the 9th Summit.  

The Undersecretary congratulated the Secretary-General on his appointment and thanked him for the update and assured him of the Ministry’s cooperation. He added that Turkey remains committed to advancing the vision and objectives of the Organization in order to contribute to the upliftment of life and living standards of the peoples of its Member States.