Pakistan seeks observer status for D-8 in UN General Assembly

Pakistan's UN Ambassador says status will strengthen linkages between D-8 countries and UN, reinforce mutual benefit

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has made a request to a UN committee, seeking observer status for the Developing Eight Countries Organisation for Economic Cooperation, otherwise known as D-8, in the General Assembly.

Addressing the 193-member assembly's legal committee on Tuesday, Pakistan's UN ambassador Masood Khan called for the support of member states in this regard. "We are confident that granting observer status to the D-8 will strengthen the linkages between the D-8 and the United Nations and reinforce the mutual benefits that would accrue from this relationship," he said.

Established in 1997, D-8 members comprise Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria and Turkey.

The Pakistani envoy said the goal of the inter-governmental organisation was to improve the position of developing countries in the world economy, diversify and create new opportunities in trade relations, enhance participation in decision-making at the international level and provide a better standard of living to its populations.

"The organisation's activities are guided by its laid-down principles: peace instead of conflict, dialogue instead of confrontation, cooperation instead of exploitation, justice instead of double standards, equality instead of discrimination and democracy instead of oppression," he said.

The D-8 focuses on cooperation in the areas of trade, agriculture and food security, industry and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), transportation, energy, communication and information, finance, banking, privatisation, science and technology, poverty alleviation, human resource management, environment, health, tourism, and culture.

"These are, in fact, also the priorities of the United Nations in the context of socio-economic growth and sustainable development in the developing countries," Khan said.