Foreign Minister Dr. AK Abdul Momen took over the chairmanship of the D-8 on Wednesday for two years from his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu at the beginning of the foreign ministers’ meeting held virtually.
With this, Bangladesh became the D-8 chair for the second time.
Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkey are the other members of the D-8 which was announced officially through the Istanbul Declaration of Summit of Heads of State/Government on June 15, 1997.
Bangladesh, earlier, held the chairmanship in 1999 to 2001. This time, the responsibility comes at a time when the country is celebrating the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the Golden Jubilee of Independence.
Bangladesh has also fulfilled the UN criteria for graduating from the LDC Group of countries recently.
“We are indeed honoured and happy for having the opportunity of chairing the D-8 at this historic moment,” the foreign minister said, seeking cooperation from all member states.
“Bangladesh will take all pragmatic initiatives to open new avenues of cooperation among the D-8 Member States with the aim of making this group even more vibrant, active and of course, effective,” he said.
As the whole world is experiencing an unprecedented global public health and economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, he also said that the D-8 Member States “need to stand together more than ever”.
The 10th Summit will be held on Thursday where Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will address.
