KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Jul 8 (APP): Pakistan and other D-8 Muslim developing
countries Tuesday reaffirmed their determination to meet global challenges
through innovative cooperation and called for promoting socio-economic
interaction, peace and tolerance. The D-8 countries comprising Pakistan, Malaysia, Iran, Turkey, Indonesia,
Bangladesh, Egypt and Nigeria adopted a joint statement at the conclusion of 6th
D-8 Summit, urging the need to coordinate through negotiations to resolve
various issues.
The Summit which was attended by the heads of states and government of D-8
countries ended with the joint note of enhancing cooperation in areas including
current global food shortage, global warming, labour migration, Islamic banking
and finance, and the strengthening of global halal industry.
On global economic crisis, the D-8 countries agreed to promote the interests of
developing countries and redouble efforts to meet global challenges through
innovative cooperation.
The joint statement stressed that in trade, the developed countries should fully
take into account the conditions of developing countries to ensure effective and
beneficial integration of countries into global economy. It also called for
emphasizing the importance of a meaningful and fair conclusion of negotiation of
Doha Development Round as soon as possible.
The D-8 countries agreed that areas of international cooperation and should be
fair, transparent and non discriminatory and reaffirmed full support of the
speedy accession of Iran into the WTO.
The countries expressed concern on adverse effects of spiralling oil price and
called upon the international community to urgently address the issue.
They emphasized the importance of collaborative efforts to enhance capacity
building, transfer of technology, exploration of new sources of supply,
development of alternative fuels, including renewable sources of energy, as well
as peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
Recognizing the adverse impacts of global warming and climate change on
development, the D-8 reaffirmed commitment to enhance cooperation in climate
change negotiations following the Bali Roadmap to support the adaptation efforts
of the developing countries.
The summit urged cooperation on protecting the rights of migrant workers, both
within the context of D-8 and in other regional and global processes, including
the Global Forum on Migration and Development.
They acknowledged the efforts of the private sector to strengthen collaboration
in global Halal industry, biotechnology and renewable energy and the potentials
of Islamic banking and finance.
They also appreciated the contribution of Malaysia in developing common standard
through Halal Development Corporation (HDC) International Halal Integrity
Alliance (IHI Alliance), Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS) and the
offer of Malaysia Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP) Halal training
programmes.
