Date of Establishment: 1997

Headquarter: Istanbul

Secretary-General: Ambassador Isiaka Abdulqadir Imam (Nigeria)

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

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 (1.3 billion) and 14% of global trade (700 billion Dollars). The total economic size of the Organization is approximately 5 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.

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). As of May 2024, Chairmanship has been taken over by Egypt.

H.E. Minister Hakan Fidan participated at the D-8 21th Ministerial Council Meeting held in Cairo on 18 December 2024.

Cairo Summit and Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting

The 11th D-8 Summit and the 21st Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting were held in Cairo, the capital of current D-8 Chair Egypt, on December 18-19, 2024. H.E President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and H.E. Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan participated in these meetings.

Expansion of the D-8

During the D-8 Summit held under the Egyptian Chairmanship on December 16-19, 2024, Azerbaijan was accepted as a full member of the Organization by consensus. This marked the first expansion of the D-8 since its establishment.