By IRNA,
Kuala Lumpur : The 11th meeting of foreign ministers of the Group of Eight Islamic Developing Countries (D-8) started its work on Sunday.
The meeting was inaugurated by Malaysian Foreign Minister Rais Yatim who stressed the need for further cooperation among the D-8 member states.
The D-8 compromises Iran, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.
It was set up in 1997 as an economic alliance with the objective of improving the position of Muslim developing countries in the global world economy through the diversification of their economies by creating new opportunities via increased trade relations.
The ministerial meeting would be followed up by the sixth Summit of the D-8 heads of states due to be held on July 7-8.
The theme of the Summit is “Meeting Challenges Through Innovative Cooperation.”
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran is expected to leave Tehran for Kuala Lumpur Sunday evening to attend the D-8 Summit.
This is the first time that Malaysia is hosting the D-8 Summit.
The last summit was hosted by Indonesia, the current chairman of D-8, in Bali, Indonesia on 13th of May 2006.
Meeting of the D-8 states’ senior officials known as the 25th Session of the Commission of D-8, was held between July 4-5 in Kuala Lumpur.
The opening session of the 6th Summit of D-8 would be held on July 8 with a speech by Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi.
More in the inaugural ceremony, the D-8 presidency would be handed over to Malaysia by the group’s current chairman President of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Malaysia would be the D-8’s president for two years.
The 2008 Summit is expected to adopt the decision on the setting up of the D-8 Permanent Secretariat and D-8 Roadmap for Economic Cooperation in the Second Decade of Cooperation (2008-2018).