As the 7th D-8 Summit was successfully held in Abuja on 4-8 July 2010, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria is publishing a post-summit publication to recap the achievements and success of the activities of D-8. D-8 Secretary General contributed a warm and encouraging message of congratulation and continous support to the implementation of all working programs at D-8.

Below is excerpt of the message by D-8 Secretary General, Widi Pratikto.

Every two years D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation holds its Summit. This year  with the gracious offer from Nigerian government, the 7th D-8 Summit was successfully held in Abuja on 4-8 July 2010. It was an honor and privilege for me to attend this august meeting and be appointed  as D-8 Secretary General.

13th Session of the Council and 28th Session of the Commission were held back-to-back to the 7th Summit in order to prepare its substantive documents and ensure its effectiveness. My colleagues and I at the Secretariat contributed efficiently in preparation of all meeting documents (i.e. draft agenda, reports, etc) which were put at the disposal of participants after incorporating views of the host country. Compilation of technical meeting reports as well as statistics and country profiles were prepared and distributed prior to the meetings for ease of reference during deliberations by member countries.

Abuja Declaration was drafted and offered by Nigeria for consideration and approval of Heads of State/Government. The declaration addresses many compelling issues within D-8 Community and around the globe. It specifically stresses on the partnership and trust among the D-8 members through expediting ratification of D-8 Preferential Trade Agreement, Costume Agreement, Agreement of Simplification on Visa Procedures as well as increasing and diversifying intra-trade through promotion of participation of private sectors in D-8 activities.

Financial and monitory coordination among member countries are backbones for successful implementation of our Preferential Trade Agreement. Thanks to the initiative of Nigeria, the D-8 meeting of  Governors of Central Bank was held in Abuja on 6 July 2010 to review and exchange such modalities. Once PTA reaches it operation phase, then such financial coordination will become instrumental.

Envisioning the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, it will be wise to look upon Action Plan for Implementation of D-8 Road Map 2008 – 2018, in which many areas covering Trade, Investment, Industrial Cooperation, etc are mentioned. The important issues for us is to follow up five Priority Programs, namely Trade, Agriculture and Food Security, Industrial Cooperation, Small & Medium Enterpise (SME), Transportation and Energy & Mineral. We should collectively focus our attention in these areas of cooperation which will bring about closer and more pro-active economic engagements. Indeed, the Role of The D-8 Secretariat in facilitating and arranging these activities will be vital.

We have covered many important technical and legal grounds so far. We still need to hold our hands together and dedicate ourselves even stronger to the lofty objectives of our organization for the benefit of our beloved nations, for years to come. In this regard, my humble and heartfelt appreciation are extended to all Nigerian officials for hosting such an important set of high level meetings smoothly and prestigiously.

We at the Secretariat remain committed to provide member countries with best of our efforts and services. We believe in the future of D-8 and will do our utmost efforts to implement its objectives.