Pakistan, Bangladesh hail Turkey's D-8 leadership
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi participating in a joint session of virtual TRT World Forum titled “New Realities in Foreign Affairs and Interstate Relations after Covid-19". PHOTO: TWITTER/@SMQureshiPTI
Pakistan and Bangladesh on Wednesday thanked Turkey for providing effective leadership to the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation.
Speaking at a virtual meeting of the D-8 Council of Ministers, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also congratulated Bangladesh on taking over as chair of the D-8 Summit.
"At the outset, I thank Turkey, the outgoing chair, for providing effective leadership to the organization. I also congratulate and extend my best wishes to Bangladesh as the incoming Chair of the D-8 Summit,” Qureshi said.
He stressed the need for member countries to renew their commitment to work for the earliest possible realization of the D-8’s vision and objectives.
"For a strong partnership, we need to fully implement various instruments and agreements for mutually beneficial collaboration, create opportunities for entrepreneurs, and mobilize our private sector,” he said.
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Qureshi added that Pakistan has always contributed to efforts to strengthen the D-8 and reaffirmed Islamabad’s commitment to the vision and objectives of the organization.
Bangladesh is hosting the 10th D-8 Summit online due to the COVID-19 pandemic and leaders of the member countries – Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Turkey, and Pakistan – will meet virtually on Thursday.
The theme of this year’s summit is Partnership for a Transformative World: Harnessing the Power of Youth and Technology.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will hand over the chairmanship of the D-8 Summit to Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Turkey made ‘phenomenal contribution’
Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen praised Turkey for its leadership and for successfully completing its tenure as chair of the D-8 Council of Ministers.
"I would like to extend my congratulations to Your Excellency Mr. Mevlut Cavusoglu, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Turkey, for your successful tenure as the Chair of the D-8 Council of Ministers and also appreciate Your Excellency for the phenomenal contribution that was made to the D-8 under your stewardship," Momen said in a statement.
He said the D-8 countries hold immense potential in terms of human capital, particularly their youth populations, and stressed the need to “tap the unbound potential of this youth.”