Istanbul Hosts Events of D-8 Investment Forum" of Group of Eight Islamic Developing Countries

Istanbul, June 16 (QNA) - The "D-8 Investment Forum" of the Group of Eight Islamic Developing Countries kicked off Thursday in Istanbul, Turkey In a speech delivered during the forum the Turkish Minister of Trade, Dr. Mehmet Mus said that his country has significantly succeeded in its integration with global markets, calling on the eight countries to evaluate the opportunities available in his country to boost joint cooperation at a time when global supply chains are being reshaped.
He stated that the Group of Eight Islamic Developing Countries was established a quarter of a century ago, and it has enormous economic potentials, with a population of more than one billion people, and an economic volume of 4 trillion dollars, pointing out that the volume of bilateral trade between Turkey and the group, last year amounted to about 5 percent of the total Turkish foreign trade, noting that this did not amount to the level of potentials available to the group countries.
He also noted that the volume of foreign direct investment flows to his country since 2002 has reached about 242 billion dollars, while the total foreign direct investment from the group countries amounted to only 1.1 billion dollars, during the same period, adding that Turkish direct investments in the group countries amounted to 716 million dollars. However, the level of integration in terms of trade and investment remains less than desired.
Dr. Mehmet Mus called for increasing the integration of the groups companies and cooperation among them to revive trade and investment ties, with the aim of making significant contributions to the groups countries and achieving employment and prosperity, stressing the need to increase intra-group trade through the implementation of the preferential trade agreement among member states.
Representatives of investment agencies and chambers of commerce and industry of the G8 countries are participating in the forum, while the objectives of this group are to ensure cooperation in the areas of development and economy and increase the volume of trade exchange between members.
The forum is organized on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the founding of the D-8 group, which includes Turkey, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Egypt, Nigeria and Pakistan. (QNA)