Chief Adviser goes to attend D-8 Summit in KL

DHAKA, Bangladesh, July 5 (BSS)- 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.

Representatives from Bangladesh Egypt, Indonesia, Iran,
Malaysia, Nigeria and Pakistan attended the seminar.