TIME FOR D-8 TO SHED REPUTATION AS A TALK SHOP, SAYS MALAYSIA'S FOREIGN MINISTER

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 (Bernama) -- It is time for the Group of Eight
Developing Islamic Countries (D-8) to shed its reputation as a 'talk shop' and
emerge as a grouping which can contribute towards economic growth and
socio-economic development of its members, Malaysia's Foreign Minister Anifah
Aman said Monday.

In his welcoming statement at the one-day 12th Session of the D-8 Council
of Ministers meeting here, Anifah said that in the second phase of the D-8
10-year roadmap, member countries should ensure that they translate the action
plans into tangible collaboration and viable business projects for the private
sectors to pursue.

"I see that we have a lot of work to be done before we can achieve some
fruitful results," he said.

The D-8 was established on June 15, 1997 in Istanbul, Turkey, to encourage
greater economic cooperation among its members -- Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia,
Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.

Anifah said Kuala Lumpur was of the view that the D-8 Plan of Action needed
a clear focus and should be prioritised based on member countries' interests
and needs.

"Fulfilling member countries' needs through the consensus decision-making
process should be the first criterion in the selection of programmes and
activities. In doing so, it holds a higher probability of attracting governments
and the private sector interest," he said.

He said the D-8 commissioners had listed trade as the top priority for D-8
cooperation and as such, it was vital that all member countries complete the
signing and ratification of the Preferential Trade Agreement, Agreement on
Customs Cooperation and Agreement on Simplification of Visa for D-8 Businessmen.

"I believe that we should exert more effort on improving the pecuniary
advantages of countries by introducing and implementing practical economic
programmes on an incremental basis to boost trade and economic development," he
said.

Anifah also outlined Malaysia's expectations of what the D-8 should be doing
and the direction that it should advance, among others the reinvigoration
process that undertaken needs to be achieved within the shortest time frame as
the D-8 had been established more than 12 years ago.

"This, in Malaysia's view, could be achieved if the D-8 focus on the
Priority List of Areas of Cooperation that had been agreed upon, for example,
trade, agriculture and food security, industrial cooperation and SMEs (small-
and medium-scale enterprises), transportation, energy and minerals," he said.

Another area was agriculture, where success in the development of the
agricultural sector would contribute towards fulfilling the population's
expectations, offer possibilities of large scale agriculture and enhance member
countries' level of high-tech farming.

Anifah also said that the grouping's work programme should not be
a long list or attempts to be too ambitious as it was much better to focus on a
selected list of programmes of work that could successfully be embarked on
before taking on other programmes of cooperation.

On the D-8 secretariat, Anifah said it needed to be creative and capitalise
on the work of other more established organisations and successful models.

Concerning the Draft D-8 Charter, Anifah said Malaysia supported the idea
that the D-8 needed a charter and this was the first time that such a draft was
being studied by the D-8 Commission.

"The commission is also seeking our approval to work on a charter for the
D-8. Malaysia welcomes the commission's submission and is ready to lend our
approval for the commission to begin work on the draft charter," he said.
-- BERNAMA