‘D-8 summit to be held in July’: FPCCI bemoans low trade volume among D-8 member countries

KARACHI: President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Irfan Iqbal Sheikh has said the Developing Eight (D-8) Organisation of Economic Cooperation had the potential to become an effective economic and trade bloc; however, it had yet to develop into a formidable regional alliance.

He called for the implementation of D-8 Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) 2006 for tangible gains. It was indeed implemented in 2016, but it has yet to unleash its true potential, he added.

The FPCCI chief pointed out that D-8 countries include countries that are deemed large due to their populations as well as those that are termed large because of the size of their GDPs.

The D-8 alliance includes Pakistan, Turkey, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia and Nigeria; and their collective Gross Domestic Product (GDP) adds up to $4 trillion.

However, intra-D-8 trade stands at merely 4.5 percent of the members’ total trade, which is grossly insufficient and inexcusable.

Irfan Sheikh maintained that intraregional trade within economic blocs of the world goes as high as 70-75 percent.

President of the D-8 chamber Sheikh Fazle Fahim said the objectives of his organisation were to improve developing countries’ position in the world economy, diversify and create new opportunities in trade relations, enhance participation in decision-making at the international level and provide better standards of living to their peoples.

The FPCCI chief apprised the meeting that the achievable trade potential among D-8 countries is up to $500 billion that, if achieved, could usher in a new era of economic and social development by facilitating regional and sub-regional cooperation, import of competitively priced and reliable food products for the member countries, intra-D-8 investments and joint ventures, and poverty reduction through employment generation.

He added that Pakistan would actively participate in the upcoming D-8 Summit to be held from July 25 to July 27, which is expected to be attended by heads of states, foreign ministers and chiefs of chambers of commerce concerned.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022