Sartaj Aziz stresses on trade agreements at inaugural D-8 session

Commissioners from Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria and Turkey are attending the 2-day meeting.

ISLAMABAD: Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Monday stressed that trade agreements needed to brought into effect, particularly the Preferential Trade Agreements between the participating nations of Developing-8 (D-8).

Addressing the inaugural session of D-8 commissioners meeting, Aziz said that cooperation between countries needed to be strengthened by acting upon agreements which asked for the removal of trade barriers.

The two-day meeting is being attended by commissioners of member countries including Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria and Turkey.

The Adviser proposed that a mechanism should be evolved to increase cooperation in the energy sector since it was proving to be a daunting challenge for Pakistan.

Emphasising that economic revival was a high priority of the government, the Adviser said that the reason to join D-8 was taken by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif 15 years ago, who also attended the first historical summit of the organisation in Istanbul in June 1997.

Aziz also said that Pakistan was in the process of organising the first meeting of D-8 Energy Forum in Islamabad.

He said the member countries could cooperate on capacity building, transfer of technology, capital and labour, energy and food security, Islamic banking and Halal sector development.