Statement by the Foreign Minister of Pakistan His Excellency Mr. Shah Mahmood Qureshi at the 12th Session of D-8 Council of Ministers

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 1-2 November 2009

His Excellency Datuk Anifah Aman,
Foreign Minister of Malaysia, Excellencies,

Dr. Dipo Alam,
Secretary General D-8,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

First of all let me express my gratitude to the people and the Government of Malaysia for the warm welcome and generous hospitality extended to me and my delegation since our arrival in this beautiful city.

I also wish to congratulate Malaysia for assuming the Chair of the 27th Session of the Council of Ministers. Pakistan looks forward to extend its full cooperation in achieving objectives of the Organization during Malaysia's stewardship. His Excellency Dr. Dipo Alam Secretary General D-8 deserves special thanks and admiration for his untiring efforts in promoting the objectives of the organization.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Pakistan is committed to the success of D-8. It is encouraging that since its inception in 1997, intra D-8 trade quadrupled from US$ 14.5 to US$ 61 billion. However, it is much below our potential. He needs to take concrete measures to leverage our true potential. D-8 has a very promising future; with a population of more than 930 million – 14.2% of world population; vast natural resources, oil and gas; minerals and agriculture, scientific know how and industrious manpower – places us in a unique position to benefit from the unlimited opportunities offered by the knowledge base society of the 21st century. However, to benefit from these opportunities, we would need to invest in education, S&T, R&D and human resource development. Our mutual cooperation in learning from each others experiences and sharing good practices would help in achieving shared objectives.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Our group has adopted a sound blue print “the Roadmap for Economic and Social Cooperation” in the Second Decade of Cooperation. It offers a comprehensive framework with clear objectives and identifies potential areas to achieve realistic targets. All areas of cooperation covered in the roadmap are of utmost importance and complement each other in pursuit of economic growth and social progress. In order to make our organization more relevant and vibrant, I suggest that we focus our attention on expanding mutual economic cooperation and increasing intra-organizational trade and commerce. I would like to propose that we work towards achieving the modest target of US$ 120 billion intra D-8 trade by 2012. I am confident that all of us would be as anxious as I am, to achieve this and even high targets for our organization.

I would also suggest that we give priority to operationalize the Preferential Trade Agreement and the Protocol on Rules of Origin. I am sure this coupled with removal of all Non tariff barriers would greatly facilitate intra group trade and commerce. It would help in meeting challenges posed by global economic slowdown as well as to stimulate economic recovery in member countries.

As developing countries with vast human and material resources we offer excellent environment for businesses and foreign investment. Some of us represent great success stories of our times. We in Pakistan are keen to learn from their experience. Pakistan offers one of the most liberal investment regimes in the region. Almost all sectors are open to foreign investment without any restriction on repatriation of capital and dividend. I would like to avail this opportunity to invite entrepreneurs from member countries and beyond to come to Pakistan and benefit from our liberal investment regime. We will guarantee protection of their investments and help them in every possible way.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
All D-8 countries share the common heritage of Islamic faith. Our faith exhorts us to travel and explore the world in order to enjoy Allah's bounties and to observe how He has created a balance in this universe. It should provide an impetus for tourism among our countries. We all are multi ethnic and multi cultural countries, and are blessed with great scenic and archaeological wealth. We offer great potential of tourism and learning for scholars interested in ancient civilizations. I would urge public and private sectors in D-8 countries to come together and invest in the development and promotion of tourism industry in member countries. It offers great potential for business and generating employment opportunities for young people.

On 14 August this year, under the auspices of ECO, we inaugurated a demonstration cargo train between Islamabad and Istanbul. We are looking forward to introduce a high speed cargo freight service on this route in near future. Pakistan is focusing special attention to upgrade existing infrastructure as we aspire to become a trade and energy corridor at cross roads South, Central and West Asia. In the context of D-8 countries, I would suggest we pay special attention to strengthen shipping linkages for expansion of trade and commercial relations among all member countries. Pakistan has developed a modern port at Gwadar very close to the Strait of Hormuz to facilitate commercial activities and transit trade with Central Asian States.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Food security is another area which needs close cooperation and collaboration among our countries. Pakistan, as an agrarian economy would be happy to share technical know-how with other member countries. According to a UN report almost half of our