The Israeli aggression on Gaza is likely to overshadow deliberations as the leaders of Muslim countries meet today (Thursday) at the Eight Developing Nations (D-8) moot in Islamabad.
With an estimated population of over one billion, the D8 group comprises Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.
World leaders started arriving in the federal capital to attend the D8 summit on Wednesday. The government has already announced a public holiday in the federal capital on the opening day of the summit to facilitate security arrangements and movement of the VVIPs.
Though the moot is aimed at finding ways and means to increase mutual trade and business between member states, the Israeli aggression may overshadow the talks and a joint strategy may be discussed by the Muslim leaders, as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Egyptian leader Mohamed Morsi and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, all three key players in the Middle East, are scheduled to be among those attending the D8 summit. The tone was set for the Palestine debate as Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Wednesday condemned what she called Israel’s “aggression” against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, the state-run news agency, APP, ran a government statement that said the conflict in Gaza would likely be a hot topic in the meetings between the Pakistani leaders and those attending the D-8 summit. The summit will mark the first visit by an Egyptian president to Pakistan in four decades and the first by a Nigerian leader in 28 years.
The moot’s ambitious goal is to increase trade between member countries from $130 billion to $507 billion by 2018.
Egyptian president and leader of the Muslims Brotherhood Mohammad Morsi, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Nigerian President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan are scheduled to attend the summit, while the prime ministers of Bangladesh and Malaysia have already excused from attending the meeting and would be represented by other officials.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday and was received by Minister for Kashmir Affairs Mian Manzoor Wattoo.
Speaking ahead of the summit, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Wednesday called for preferential trade, visa and customs agreement for Pakistan, adding that that her country offered investment opportunities to foreign businessmen in energy, communication infrastructure and agriculture sectors.
Speaking at the D-8 Ministerial Council Meeting, Khar said the Islamabad Summit would have significance as it was coinciding with the 15th anniversary of the founding of the D-8 bloc.
“This journey, which we started in 1997, has enriched our fraternal relationship in the last many decades but there is so much more potential that we still have to tap and we hope that we start the journey of tapping that potential from here,” she added.
The foreign minister said the D-8 group of countries had come together in 1997 for a reason. “Because we collectively believe that the better future of our people is within grasp.”
She said the summit was the venue of adoption of two landmark documents – the D-8 Charter and the Global Vision.