Ankara: Turkey’s President Recip Tayyip Erdogan, while addressing the Developing-8 (D-8) summit via video conference in its tenth conclave, pushed for the foundation of an Islamic megabank that could fulfill the liquidity requirements for Islamic financial institutions and infrastructure projects.
After handing over the group presidency to Bangladesh for 4 years, he stressed the need for world cooperation in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. He reiterated his call for greater use of local currencies in trade among the D-8 members.
The secretary-general of the D-8 group, Datu Ku Jaffar last month said that the group is also about to start a project that includes an Islamic Development Bank to revitalize regional cooperation and trade within member states.
Developing-8 bloc
The establishment of the Developing-8 bloc was officially announced on June 15 1997 at the Istanbul Declaration of the Summit of Heads of States and Government. The bloc includes Bangladesh, Egypt, Nigeria, Indonesia, Malaysia, Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey.