Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Trade and cooperation opportunities were discussed at the D-8 Investment Forum held in İstanbul on the occasion of the 25^th anniversary of the Eight Developing Countries (D-8) Economic Cooperation Organization consisting of Turkey, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Egypt, Nigeria and Pakistan.

The meeting, co-organized by the D-8 Secretariat and the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), was attended by Trade Minister Mehmet Muş, TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, Federal Minister of Pakistan Investment Board Chaudhry Salik Hussain, D-8 Secretary General Ambassador Isiaka Abdulqadir Imam and representatives of Investment Agencies and D-8 Chambers of Commerce and Industry of D-8 member countries.

- 'Preferential Trade Agreement' warning

TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized in his speech that it is necessary to protect the understanding of “peace instead of war, dialogue instead of conflict, justice instead of double standards, equality instead of superiority, sharing instead of exploitation, human rights, freedom and democracy instead of oppression and domination” in the founding principles of D-8.

Stating that D-8 countries spread to 3 very important continents such as Europe, Asia and Africa, Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out that D-8 countries have rich natural resources and their young and dynamic population, which constitutes about seventh of the world. Hisarcıklıoğlu said: “We have an economy of 3.8 trillion dollars. Our average per capita income, which was $1,820 when D-8 was founded, has now exceeded $4,500. Our total trade is $1.6 trillion. We realize 4.5% of world trade. However, intra-D-8 trade is only 6.5% of our total trade. While it is very important that the intra-D-8 trade volume has increased more than 7 times to date, unfortunately it is not enough. We should increase our intra-D-8 trade to 30% of our total trade in the first phase. In other words, we must reach the goal of 500 billion dollars. I believe that the Preferential Trade Agreement is very important for this. It is of paramount importance that the agreement is ratified by all member states as soon as possible.”

Stating that D-8 members have sectoral collaborations in many areas from trade, agriculture and industry, tourism to energy and transportation, the TOBB President said, “However, the existing partnerships are almost 'drops in the ocean'. We can't use our potential. We need to trade more. We need to produce more. We should turn to products with high added value in production. We need to increase our human-to-human contacts. We need to invest more mutually. We must leave our young population better jobs, a brighter future. We must include new areas such as the digital economy, electronic commerce and green growth in our cooperation. Likewise, we should include trade facilitation and cooperation on customs issues among our priorities. We need to improve our logistics ties and infrastructure. We need to facilitate the climate of doing business between us.”

Pointing out the importance of investor-friendly policies, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “In the process of improving the investment environment, a functioning arbitration system is the guide. Our countries must be open to international arbitration. In this respect, we should benefit from the Islamic Cooperation Arbitration Center established in İstanbul. We, as the D-8 Chamber of Commerce and Industry, are ready to support the steps to be taken by our governments in this field and to transform these steps into concrete cooperation. The investment climate should inspire confidence in investors. It should encourage investors to invest more and offer attractive conditions for new investors. D-8 Chamber of Commerce and Industry is ready to contribute to the development of trade and investment relations for D-8.”

- Minister of Trade Muş

In his speech, Trade Minister Mehmet Muş pointed out that trade between the D-8 countries remained below potential. Pointing out that D-8, which has an economic size of around 4 trillion dollars for a population of more than 1 billion, has not yet fully used this potential, Minister Muş noted that trade with D-8 countries has a 5 percent share in Turkey's foreign trade. Minister Muş said, “By the end of 2030, as member countries, it has been determined to increase the trade within the D-8 region to at least 10 percent of our total trade. We believe that the implementation of the D-8 Preferential Trade Agreement by all members and countries is of key importance in order to achieve this goal.”

Mehmet Muş called for the lifting of explicit or implicit restrictions on foreign direct investment for close cooperation under D-8. Minister Muş said, “I would like to underline the importance we attach to the full implementation of the D-8 Preferential Trade Agreement, which we continue to see as the biggest building block of cooperation in the field of trade and investment.”

Mehmet Muş, who invited the D-8 countries to evaluate the opportunities in Turkey in terms of initiatives with joint cooperation, said, “Increasing investments and cooperation within the D-8 will make significant contributions in terms of the growth of our countries, the increase in employment and the increase in prosperity.”

- There are opportunities to grow trade

Ambassador Isiaka Abdulqadir Imam, Secretary General of the D-8, stated that the trade between the D-8 members is below what it should be and that there are many opportunities in front of them to increase it. Chaudhry Salik Hussain, Federal Minister of the Investment Board of Pakistan, also touched on the importance of increasing cooperation investments and explained the investment opportunities in his country.