BSS-51 Momen for common investment polices among D-8 members

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ZCZC

BSS-51

MOMEN-D8-TRADE

Momen for common investment polices among D-8 members

DHAKA, April 5, 2021 (BSS) – Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen
today called for common investment policies, guidelines, and
strategies to promote intra-trade and investment innovation among the
D-8 member states.

“Leveraging the commonalities, D-8 Member States should aim at
promoting intra-trade and investment innovation,” he said while
virtually addressing the D-8 business forum held today on the side
line of the upcoming D-8 summit.

The foreign minister said the D-8 need to create diaspora
investment opportunities and work for minimizing tariff and non-tariff
barriers expediting trade among the member states.

Momen said the D-8 also need to create funds for development, R&D,
technology transfer, capacity building and support for institutions
and centres of excellence, including the SME and blue economy
sectors,” he said.

“We would like to particularly stress on the area of innovation and
mainstreaming them in our developmental strategy circuit,” he said.

Noting that the total GDP of the D-8 Member States is around 4.9% of
world GDP, the foreign minister said this is manifestation of the
region’s consumer base for both service and commodities along with its
inherent growth potentials.

To tap into that, he said, D-8 CCI could play the key role through
effective collaboration and partnership with their government sector
in addition to their self networking mechanism.

During the event the Chairmanship of the D-8 Chamber of Commerce and
Industries (D-8 CCI) was handed over to the Federation of Bangladesh
Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) from the Union of Chambers
and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB).

TOBB president Rifat Hisarciklioglu handed over the D-8 CCI
chairmanship to FBCCI president Sheikh Fazle Fahim.

D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, also known as
Developing-8 consists of 8 developing Muslims countries- Bangladesh,
Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.

Bangladesh is set to hold the 10th D-8 Summit virtually on April 8
aiming to seek more investment and trade from the member states.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will lead the Bangladesh delegation
while her counterparts of the rest seven D-8 member states will head
their respective sides at the summit.

“After the summit, Bangladesh will chair the D-8 for next two years
that creates opportunity to project Bangladesh’s tremendous economic
and development success in front of the world,” foreign minister Dr AK
Abdul Momen told reporters at a virtual media briefing today.

At the summit, Turkey, the current chair of D-8 will hand over the
chairmanship to Bangladesh for the next two years.

At the end of the summit, the “D-8 Decennial Roadmap 2020-2030” and
“Dhaka Declaration 2021” are likely to be adopted to make the D8
platform more effective and functional for realising full potential of
economic cooperation among its member states, Momen said earlier.

BSS/ASG/TA/MRU/2156hrs