The leaders of the eight developing Muslim nations, the D-8 - comprising the most populous countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Egypt and Nigeria - concluded their summit in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur last Tuesday, with a joint statement terming the event "a turning point" in the ten-year history of D-8 co-operation and adopting "a ten-year roadmap and other basic documents to enhance co-operation and solidarity among ourselves."
Presumably, the phrase 'turning point' is reflective of the group's disappointment over the slow pace of progress in the past and a new resolve to work more effectively to achieve success. Although the group's last meeting in Indonesia two years ago had important items on its agenda, including a number of trade agreements, the follow-up turned out to be anything but impressive. The Preferential Tariff Agreement (PTA) on selected goods, for one, did not go far enough.
In order for it to come into force, it had to be ratified by at least four members. In the event, only two, Iran and Malaysia, fulfilled the requirement. The PTA needs to be activated urgently so that the intra D-8 trade picks up momentum. Similarly, the agreement to promote Islamic banking and finance also needs a push.
Still, it is important to note that the D-8 summits are no longer talk shops. The recent ones have some concrete initiatives to show for their sincerity of purpose. An obvious example, of course, is that of the PTA, which may not have been fully secured but remains on the table promising to spur D-8 trade in a big way. The Kuala Lumpur Summit focused on the major global issues of food shortages and rising energy costs, announcing a number of steps to meet the situation.
These include joint ventures to produce fertilisers, animal feed, and a seed bank to increase agricultural output. The group also accepted Bangladesh's proposal for the creation of D-8 Food Fund. Considering that the D-8 contains countries like Pakistan and Egypt on the one hand which have ample agricultural lands, and oil-rich Iran, Indonesia and Nigeria on the other hand with rising cash flows from the record high oil prices, while the business savvy Malaysian companies are said to be ready to invest in joint food production projects, the prospects for achieving food security surely look bright.
With regard to surging oil prices, the joint declaration sought to renew the D-8 commitment to collaborative efforts to enhance capacity, encourage transfer of technology, promote exploration of new sources of supply and development of alternative sources of energy as well as peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
Interestingly, but not unsurprisingly, there is no reflection here of a Malaysian proposal that the D-8 nations that have gained windfall profits from the soaring oil prices share them with fellow members hit hard by the energy crisis. Proposals like this one tend to disregard an important behavioural detail, which is that individuals as well as nations tend not to act unselfishly. Any co-operative effort, therefore, among the D-8 members, whether on food or energy projects, has to be mutually beneficial in order to bear fruit.
One such initiative suitably recognised in the joint declaration is intra-regional labour mobility as an effective tool for poverty reduction and development, though sceptics would point to the slow pace of development in most D-8 nations. It has been decided to enhance co-operation in the field and also to exchange information vis-à-vis protection and promotion of migrant workers' rights. The need to cover the policy with proper workers' rights protection cannot be overemphasised. Overall, the Kuala Lumpur summit's joint statement reflects a lot of good intentions; only time will tell if they really represent a turning point in the D-8 history.