By NNN-BSS,
Dhaka, Bangladesh : Chief Adviser of Bangladesh caretaker government Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed leaves here for Kuala Lumpur on Monday to attend the 6th D-8 Summit scheduled to take place in Malaysia on July 8.
The Bangladesh’s head of the government will lead the country’s delegation to the summit of the leaders of Developing-8, popularly known as D-8, according to the official sources.
The theme of this year’s summit is “Meeting Challenges Through Innovative Cooperation”.
During his two-day visit to Malaysia, the Chief Adviser will hold a number of bilateral meetings with the heads of state and government of different D-8 countries including the President of Iran, Prime Ministers of Pakistan and Malaysia on the side lines of the conference.
Apart from the official programme, he will also hold a meeting with the Bangladeshi community living in Malaysia on July 7.
Dr Fakkruddin will attend a luncheon to be hosted by the Prime Minister of Malaysia and hold retreat meetings with the heads of state and government attending the summit.
The Chief Adviser will present his country’s statement in the Summit on July 8.
This is for the first time Malaysia is hosting the summit after setting up the grouping in 1997 with an objective to promote economic and trade cooperation among the eight largest Muslim countries — Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria and Pakistan.
Indonesia hosted the last D-8 Summit in Bali on May 13, 2006. The second summit of the group was held in Bangladesh in 1999. The Summit is held every two years.
The Chief Adviser is expected to return home on July 8 evening.
The idea of cooperation among the developing Muslim countries was mooted by Dr. Neemettin Erbakan, the then Prime Minister of Turkey, during a seminar on ” Cooperation in Development” held in Istanbul in October 1996.
The group envisioned cooperation among countries stretching from South-East Asia to Africa.