We, the Heads of State and Government/Representatives of People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Arab Republic of Egypt, Republic of Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Malaysia, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Republic of Turkey were present on the occasion of the Ninth Summit of the Developing Eight Countries (D-8) in Istanbul on 20 October 2017 to mark the 20th anniversary of the D-8 under the theme “Expanding Opportunities through Cooperation”;
Reaffirming our commitments made in Istanbul, Dhaka, Cairo, Tehran, Bali, Kuala Lumpur, Abuja and Islamabad to peace, democracy, progress, dialogue, solidarity, partnership as well as tolerance and moderation as the core values and foundation for achieving economic prosperity and wellbeing of our peoples;
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the D-8 now that the Organization has entered a new phase of economic cooperation and development based on sovereignty, equality, partnership, fraternity, trust and understanding for the mutual benefit and collective prosperity of the peoples, and that Istanbul Summit is a turning point for the Organization after completion of its first cycle in the formulation of policies, instruments and institutional framework;
Commending the Republic of Turkey for choosing “Expanding Opportunities through Cooperation” as the theme of the 9th D-8 Summit and noting that the Istanbul Summit takes place at a time when the world has already adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as one of the core elements for people-centered development;
Noting the profound impacts of climate change and resultant global warming on the growth and development of nations, particularly emerging economies, and expressing our commitment for joint efforts to achieve effective adaptation to climate change and reduce the vulnerability of the people of the D-8 Member States;
Recognizing that while the role of governments as catalysts and enablers of economic growth is pivotal, significant private-sector participation will facilitate and ensure D-8 cooperation through enhanced trade and commercial activities; accordingly, affirming the importance of deepening the sectorial cooperation for deeper private sector involvement in all activities in order to attain 20 percent of total intra-D-8 trade;
Reaffirming our strong faith in multilateralism, in particular the United Nations system and committing to active participation, effective coordination and cooperation with all relevant regional and international organizations to maximize the realization of our common interests and underscoring the potential and benefit of South-South cooperation that contributes to the development of the D-8 Member States;
Underscoring the need for better coordination and close engagement among the Member States of the D-8 by taking into account the global developments and their impacts on national economies; Reaffirming our resolve to fight against all threats to economic development as well as peace and prosperity of the Member States, including terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, sectarianism and extremism, amongst others;
Emphasizing the need to utilize the synergies among the D-8 Member States to further deepen the relationship and widen the scope of cooperation into new areas and towards that end, We hereby, 1. Welcome the entry into force on 1 September 2017 of the D-8 Charter adopted at the 8th Summit in Islamabad, Pakistan in 2012 and encourage the Member States who have not ratified it yet to do so at the earliest.
2. Express our resolve to work on and prepare the D-8 Roadmap for the Decennial 2020-2030 for adoption at the 10th Summit.
3. Emphasize that the ‘D-8 Istanbul Plan of Action’, which is based on our common interest and cooperative partnership and sets out responsibilities for accomplishment of common agenda as well as timeline for implementation of programs, will further our goals and objectives toward the project implementation phase of the Organization and consolidate our joint efforts in a more concerted manner.
4. Agree to revitalize the D-8 Working Groups by enhancing their efficiency and effectiveness and encourage active participation of our relevant Ministries/Agencies in the sectorial meetings and to this end, direct the Council of Ministers to adopt the appropriate modalities.
5. Agree to establish a “D-8 Project Support Fund” within the existing resources and adopt its Terms of Reference by the relevant body in order to assist the project implementation and further instruct the Council of Ministers to explore other financing options.
6. Take note of the progress made in Ministerial meetings on Agriculture, Industry and Trade and stress the importance of holding Ministerial meetings in all other priority areas of cooperation at regular intervals, in particular, Energy, Tourism and Transportation in order to review and revise work strategies to accomplish the goals and objectives enshrined in the D-8 Charter.
7. Commend the progress made in Trade Cooperation by operationalizing the D-8 Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) from 1 July 2016 and agree to its full implementation and direct Trade/Economy Ministers to explore other trade facilitation mechanisms to promote intra-trade among the D-8 Member States.
8. Underscore the need for the D-8 Member States to develop strategies towards promoting sustainable agriculture growth and direct D-8 Agriculture Ministers to work toward deepening agricultural cooperation by developing projects that would benefit all Member States.
9. Note the progress made in Industrial Cooperation and agree to enhance cooperation in the sharing of knowledge, expertise and best practices as well as technology transfer among the Member States and direct D-8 Industry Ministers to work towards strengthening the cooperation by undertaking projects and programs.
10. Express satisfaction with the level of progress in civil aviation sector and encourage concerned agencies to further cooperate in providing better quality of services for the common good of our peoples.
11. Emphasize the need to increase connectivity in all modes of transportation and direct D-8 Transportation Ministers to initiate dialogue on cooperative efforts in all transportation sectors, particularly maritime, and transfer of technology in the construction of railways and motorways, etc.
12. Also note the developments on multi-modal physical and virtual connectivity as well as associated infrastructure and on-going progress in our countries and direct officials to explore D-8 cooperation in order to increase connectivity to promote intra-trade and people-to-people contact among the Member States.
13. Acknowledge the key role of energy in economic growth and development and while reaffirming our commitment to broaden and deepen cooperation in this sector, direct the D-8 Energy Ministers to initiate discussion on identifying possible areas of cooperation in Energy sector.
14. Note the importance and prospects of Tourism as potential contributor to economic growth and sustainable development and agree to add Tourism as one of the priority areas of D-8 cooperation and the need to develop a mutually beneficial tourism industry and direct Tourism Ministers to develop a comprehensive tourism strategy for the D-8.
15. Underscore the importance of research and development in sectorial areas and agree, in principle, to establish a D-8 Research and Development Centre which will assist in conducting research on D-8 priority and other areas of cooperation as determined by the Member States and invite interested Member States to make proposals on the modality of hosting the Centre.
16. Welcome the initiative of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the establishment of D-8 University affiliated to the Hamadan University as an associated body of the D-8 and invite the Islamic Republic of Iran to prepare modalities for working of the university and encourage Member States to utilize its capacities for human resource development.
17. Recognize the growing importance of banking and non-banking financial transactions and the need to enhance cooperation among financial institutions within the D-8 and direct our Finance/Economy Ministers and Central Banks to initiate discussion on the establishment of a D-8 Clearing House.
18. Encourage Member States yet to ratify and operationalize the Preferential Trade, the Visa and the Customs Agreements to do so as soon as possible in order to promote and ensure concrete cooperation among the Members.
19. Agree that continuous interaction and dialogue among Member States is a prerequisite for tangible outcome and stress the need for timely holding of policy making level meetings and direct concerned officials in our respective countries to honour the commitment and calendar of events so that important meetings and events take place regularly.
20. Further commend the efforts of individual Member States in organizing and successfully holding D-8 meetings at different levels and encourage Member States to hold more result-oriented meetings and events in order to further strengthen our development agenda.
21. Recognize the role of Private sector in the enhancement of economic activities and call upon the business community to make best use of the D-8 platform by encouraging its involvement in the D-8 meetings and events with a view to increasing D-8 intra-trade.
22. Appreciate the contributions made by the D-8 Eminent Persons Group (EPG) and the support of the Republic of Turkey for hosting the EPG Meetings in Istanbul.
23. Take note of the need for a strong and efficient Secretariat as a primary requirement toward accomplishing the goals and objectives of the Organization and direct the Council of Ministers to consider and adopt mechanisms to strengthen the Secretariat.
24. Note the establishment of D-8 Technology Transfer and Exchange Network (TTEN) and D-8 Petrochemical Association fora for facilitation of transfer of technology and enhanced cooperation in petrochemical sector, respectively.
25. Welcome the granting of Observer status to the D-8 by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in its 69th session and note that the United Nations and the D-8 share similar objectives, and that the Observer status will further these goals and objectives in harmony with the global economic and development agenda.
26. Reaffirm our willingness to enhance project-based cooperation with other relevant international and regional organizations, especially in priority areas and welcome the signing of Memoranda of Understanding with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), Afro-Asian Rural Development Organization (AARDO), Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), United Cities and Local Government – Middle East and West Africa (UCLG-MEWA), Agriculture and Rural Development Support Institution (ARDSI) and Islamic World Science Citation Center (ISC) and request the Secretary-General to continue his efforts in consulting with the Member States towards full implementation of the provisions of the MoUs.
27. Condemn extra-territorial jurisdiction and unilateral economic sanctions as tools of political or economic pressure against D-8 Member States.
28. Acknowledge the commendable work done by the D-8 Secretariat and appreciate the efforts made by H.E. Dr. Seyed Ali Mohammad Mousavi, the D-8 Secretary-General from the Islamic Republic of Iran and welcome H.E. Dato’ Ku Jaafar Ku Shaari from Malaysia as the new D-8 Secretary-General.
29. Express profound appreciation to His Excellency Mr. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Honourable Prime Minister of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for his leadership and untiring efforts in promoting the D-8 objectives during his Chairmanship of the Organization.
30. Express profound appreciation to His Excellency Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Honourable President of the Republic of Turkey, the Government and people of Turkey for successfully hosting the 9th Summit and for their warm and generous hospitality and further express full solidarity with them against the coup attempt that took place in 2016 and wish His Excellency the President every success during his Chairmanship of the Organization.
31. Welcome with appreciation the gracious offer of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh to host the 10th D-8 Summit in 2019.
Istanbul, 20 October 2017
