Hamisu Muhammad
23 July 2008
Nigeria and seven other developing countries have called for a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory international financial and trade system by the super powers.
The developing countries made their call at the 6th Summit of the Developing Eight Countries (D8) held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, stated a statement by the Chief Pres Secretary, Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, Abdulganiyu Aminu.
According to the statement, the ministry's Permanent Secretary and Head of the Nigerian Delegation to the summit, Engr Raymond Okenwa, stressed the country's commitment to the principles and objectives of the D8.
The D8 consists of the Republic of Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.
The summit wants equal access to the global economy and international economic organizations, giving the differences in the conditions of developing countries.
According to Engr. Okenwa, Nigeria values the D8 as a veritable vehicle for the socio-economic development of member states through active co-operation.
He expressed hope that the declaration at the summit would ginger co-operation, adding that the election of Malaysia to lead the organisation will maintain the tempo generated by the former leader, Indonesia.
In view of the adverse effects of the current global crisis, the summit agreed to co-operate in various international fora and enhance regional cooperation to ensure the D-8's continued relevance.
To address the current global shortage and skyrocketing food price, the summit agreed to deepen cooperation, including promoting joint ventures and private sector involvement in fertilizer production as well as the creation of a seed bank to ease the supply side constraints in agricultural inputs to boost food production in the short, medium and to long term.
The D8 agreed to enhance cooperation in climate change and commended the private sector for strengthening collaborations in the global halal industry, biotechnology and renewable energy and the potentials of Islamic banking and finance.
It expressed satisfaction at the significant growth in intra-D8 trade from $14.5 billion in 1960 to $60.5 billion in 2007, adding that this would increase with the entry of the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA).
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Daily Trust. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
