PM to lead M'sian delegation at youth and technology-themed D-8 summit

PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin will lead Malaysia's delegation at the 10th Summit of the D-8 Organisation for Economic Cooperation (D-8) on Thursday (April 8).

The virtual summit is hosted by Bangladesh, the current chair. The six other countries in the D-8 are Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.

The summit was preceded by the 19th session of the D-8 Council of Ministers on Wednesday (April 7), which was attended by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.

The theme for this year's D-8 Summit,"Partnership for a Transformative World: Harnessing the Power of Youth and Technology”.

Wisma Putra said the theme is timely given the need for the D-8 to explore new opportunities through the empowerment of youth and digital technology in addressing the current global economic challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Leaders are expected to discuss and review the developments and achievements of the six areas of economic cooperation and formulate plans for the next decade," it said in a statement on Wednesday (April 7).

The six areas of economic cooperation under the D-8 are trade, agriculture and food security, industrial cooperation and SMEs, transportation, energy and minerals, and tourism.

Wisma Putra said leaders are also expected to adopt two outcome documents: the Dhaka Declaration and the D-8 Decennial Roadmap for 2020-2030.

The Dhaka Declaration reaffirms the commitments of member states towards the D-8's objectives and cooperation framework in charting D-8's future strategic direction, while the Roadmap will guide the work of the D-8 towards its achievements for the next 10 years.

"Malaysia's participation at the summit will demonstrate its continued commitment and support to the initiatives under the D-8 cooperation framework," said Wisma Putra.

The D-8 Secretariat based in Istanbul, Turkey, is led by Datuk Ku Jaafar Ku Shaari, the first Malaysian to hold the secretary-general's position.

He was appointed in January 2018.