The "Developing Eight Economic Cooperation Group" (D-8) was launched in Turkey on June 15th, 1997, at a summit in Istanbul. The D-8 countries are Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Turkey. The D-8 group held its second summit in Dhaka (Bangladesh) this March, with all member countries attending this two-day meeting. The next meeting is to be hosted by Egypt in 2001.
The Turkish representative is former Prime Minster Erbakan of the former Rafah party. In this effort, Turkey seeks to subsist in its natural role of leadership in the most pivotal region of the world. Turkey has a strategic location between Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia. Its historical relationship with Asia and Africa adds to its strategic assets. To capitalize on its historical status in the region and its strategic location, the Rafah-led government proposed the establishment of an economic cooperation group similar to the west's Group of Seven. In fact, members of the D-8 have the potential to become a strong economic presence in the map of emerging international economic coalitions, such as NAFTA and the European Community.
Members of the D-8 are Muslim countries with populations of more than 50 million people. They have the financial, technological and human resources needed for the establishment of a strong economic coalition. Muslims in recent years have basically been consumers to products made in the West. Colonial powers and multinational corporations have exploited their national wealth and plundered their markets and resources. Muslim nations have become very dependent on imports.
The advent of globalization, the internationalization of production, the spread of consumerism, the role of global media, Internet, telecommunication and the information revolution has made it incumbent upon Muslims countries to coordinate to protect and defend their interests. In fact, within this type of world system, nations have no option but to protect their national interests through coalition building. The Islamic world has many factors facilitating such a process: a shared history, culture, religion, diversity of production, similar challenges and aspirations.
The D-8's activities are based on division of labor and specialization. For instance, some countries were assigned to oversee rural development, such as Bangladesh. Egypt was assigned to coordinate trade issues, while Indonesia is in charge of managing human resources. Iran is assigned the task of overseeing telecommunication issues, while Malaysia is in charge of issues related to privatization, banking and insurance. Being a country that produces oil and a member of OPEC, Nigeria was assigned the issue of coordination in the energy sector. Given the fact that other members of the D-8 are also oil-producing countries and members of OPEC, their policies need to be coordinated within the framework of the D-8. Pakistan is assigned the task of coordinating the issues related to agricultural policies of the group. Finally, Turkey is assigned the task of overseeing the task of industrial co-operation.
The D-8 initiative was an outcome resulting from the foreign policy of the Turkish Rafah and Virtue (Fazilet) parties, which focus on a constructive engagement with the international community. Their foreign policy is based on forging good relationships with Western nations. They also believe in strong relationships with the Arab, Muslim and other developing countries. They believe in the principles of democracy, human rights, and the principle of peaceful settlements to international disputes.
The D-8 Country Profile
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Source: Statistics and indicators provided by the United Nations Statistics Division from the World Statistics Pocketbook and Statistical Yearbook, except capital cities, languages and illiteracy rate. The Statistical Yearbook can be purchased on-line through UN Publications.
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