ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday assumed the chairmanship of Developing-8 countries' Council of Ministers, as stage is all set in Islamabad to host the eighth D-8 Summit on Thursday (today). The summit, whose theme is "Democratic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity", will be inaugurated by President Asif Ali Zardari after taking over the chairmanship of the organisation from the Nigerian President.
The summit is bringing together head of states and governments as well as delegations from eight member countries. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Bangladeshi delegation led by Adviser to the Prime Minister Dr Syed Ali Gohar Rizvi have arrived in the federal capital. The guests were given warm welcome at Chaklala airbase.
The primary agenda of the Summit is to focus on economic and trade matters, whereas chiefs of central banks of the member states are also meeting to explore opportunities to open bank branches in each other's countries. The summit will also adopt the Islamabad Declaration 2012 reaffirming the joint resolve to make concerted efforts to meet the common challenges being faced by the member countries.
Meanwhile, Pakistan assumed the chairmanship of Developing-8 countries after the outgoing chairman Nigeria completed its two-year term. Nigerian Minister for Foreign Affairs Olugbenga Ashiru handed over the chairmanship to Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, who represented the country at the 15th session of Council of Ministers, held on the margins of eighth D-8 Summit.
In her welcome address, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar called for early operationalisation of preferential trade‚ visa and customs agreements to bolster economic co-operation among the member countries. She suggested that a mechanism should be evolved for greater interaction amongst the private sector of the D-8 countries to tap the true potential of economic cooperation, adding that consistent efforts need to be made to make the private sector catalyst of growth.
Keeping in view the importance of the private sector‚ she said that Pakistan has invited businessmen and exhibitors of the member countries to participate in the D-8 exhibition, which she hoped to help forge business linkages among the member states. Khar said the member countries should collectively make efforts to strengthen the secretariat of D-8 to truly serve the interests of peoples and achieve the objectives of the forum. She said investment promotion agencies and trade bodies should regularly hold meetings to monitor the progress of economic cooperation.
She called upon the member countries to take benefits of the investment opportunities that exist in Pakistan in various fields, adding that Pakistan offers lucrative investment opportunities to the foreign businessmen in the areas of energy‚ communication infrastructure and agriculture. She said the D-8 Summit is being held at a time when the democratic government in Pakistan is about to complete its stipulated term, adding that democracy is essential to attain the objectives of development and welfare of the people.
Referring to Afghanistan situation, Khar said that Pakistan believes in stable and peaceful neighbourhood to achieve regional prosperity. "Pakistan believes in an Afghan led and Afghan owned reconciliation process", he added. She said that Pakistan was also engaged with India to resolve all the outstanding issues including the core issue of Kashmir.
Referring to the situation in Gaza, the foreign minister also condemned the Israeli aggression on Palestinians. "The innocent people of Gaza are in our thoughts and prayers, and Pakistan once again condemns Israel's aggression against the people of Palestine", she said.
As Chair of the council, Khar presented following proposals for consideration by the Council: Operationalise all three of the framework agreements ie Preferential Trade Agreement, agreement on simplification of visa procedures for businessmen of D-8 member states and a multilateral agreement on administrative assistance in customs matters:
Evolve a mechanism to intensify interaction of private sector by regularly holding sector-specific Business Forums. D-8 Commission to identify sectors within the agreed priority parameters:
Given the high importance of energy sector, hold periodic meetings of energy experts covering all sectors, and explore means to exchange information on projects available for public-private partnerships; Place special emphasis on co-operation in developing light engineering sector;
Establish a mechanism for sharing investment opportunities in the mineral development sectors of our countries to explore vast untapped resources; Convene regular periodic meetings of investment promotion agencies for sharing best practices and for working on Memorandum of Understanding on Investment Promotion among the D-8 Countries;
Focus on Halal sector. D-8 Commission may undertake a study for promoting Halal sector, in particular harmonisation of accreditation and certification issues and to report at the next meeting of the Council; Institutionalise the meetings of Trade Promotion Organisations, to be held biennially to monitor progress on the acceleration of trade among the D-8 community and achievement of targets set in the Roadmap for the Second Decade of Co-operation, and;
Co-ordinate our position on issues of common concerns at international fora, in particular at the United Nations. The Foreign Minister said that the socio-economic challenges were daunting, but she expressed the optimism that the will to overcome those challenges is stronger. "With determination, we can surmount these challenges and achieve desired results for the socio economic development of our countries," she added.
The Council of Ministers discussed a report presented by D-8 Secretary-General Widi Agoes Pratikto on the activities of the Secretariat. It also discussed the amendments to the statutory documents and D-8 charter. The Council also adopted the report of the 32nd session of the D-8 Commission and the budget of D-8 Secretariat for 2013.
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