Date of Establishment: 1997

Headquarter: Istanbul

Secretary-General: Ambassador Isiaka Abdulqadir Imam (Nigeria)

Member States: Türkiye, Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Egypt and Nigeria

Objectives of the Organization: To improve the position of developing countries within the world economy, to diversify their commercial relations, to create new opportunities for member countries in the field of trade, to ensure their strong participation in decision-making mechanisms at international level.

History: The Developing Eight (D-8) Organization for Economic Cooperation was established at the Heads of State/Government Summit held in Istanbul in 1997. Türkiye played a leading role in the establishment of the Organization whose Secretariat is located in Istanbul.

The Importance of the Organization: The D-8 countries constitute 1/7 of the world's population (1.1 billion) and 14% of global trade (700 billion Dollars). The total economic size of the Organization is more than 4 trillion Dollars. The fact that it includes the leading economies in every corner of the Islamic geography adds a special importance to the D-8.

All D-8 members are also members of the OIC, and they are among the leading countries within the said Organization in terms of their technological and economic development levels, commercial potential and population.

Membership of the D-8, which has a global rather than a regional character in terms of its principles and the geographical area it covers, is open to all developing countries.

Fields of Activity of the Organization: The main fields of activity of the D-8 are agriculture and food safety, trade, transportation, industry and energy, and activities are also carried out in the fields of health and tourism. Ministerial and Sectoral Working Group meetings are regularly held.

Cooperation within the framework of D-8 is mainly carried out on a sectoral basis. Industry, health and environment are coordinated by Türkiye; rural development by Bangladesh; poverty alleviation and human resources by Indonesia; science and technology by Iran; finance, banking and privatization by Malaysia; trade by Egypt; energy by Nigeria and agriculture and fisheries by Pakistan.

Relations of Türkiye with the Organization: Türkiye attaches importance to D-8 since its foundation and actively participates in the activities of the Organization. The D-8 Chairmanship which was carried out by our country between 2017-2021, was handed over to Bangladesh in 8 April 2021 at the 10th Summit Meeting (held online).

H.E. Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu virtually participated at the D-8 20th Ministerial Council Meeting held in Dhaka on 27 July 2022.