President Muhammadu Buhari is to depart for Istanbul, Turkey today to participate in the ninth Summit of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation (D-8) slated for October 20.
Members of D-8 are Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkey.
Mr Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, said in a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to the statement, prior to the D-8 Summit, President Buhari, at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, will participate in an official working visit to Ankara, the capital city.
While in Ankara, Adesina said, the President would have a discussion with his Turkish counterpart while delegations from both countries would hold discussions in various fields including defence cooperation, security, educational and migration issues.
“The Nigerian leader will also visit the Grand National Assembly of the Republic of Turkey in Ankara where he will meet with the Speaker, Ismail Kahraman,’’ the statement maintained.
Adesina revealed that President Buhari would use the occasion of the D-8 Summit to bolster warm and growing ties across a broad range of areas of cooperation with leaders of the D8-member countries.
The Summit with the theme, ‘‘Expanding Opportunities through Cooperation’’, will among other things, focus on cooperation in the areas of agriculture, trade, transport, energy and increased private sector participation among member-countries.
During the Summit, which will also mark the 20th anniversary of the organisation established to improve the developing countries’ positions in the world economy, the President would highlight the significant show of confidence in Nigeria’s business environment and economy.
The statement said President Buhari would also affirm Nigeria’s resolve to work with D-8 member-countries on many key areas, including peace and security, economy and trade.
At the end of the Summit, the Heads of State and Government will adopt a Communiqué, also known as the ‘Istanbul Declaration’.
It stated that President will be accompanied on the trip by ministers, top government officials, including the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service, Hameed Ali.
The objectives of D-8 are to improve member states’ position in the global economy, diversify and create new opportunities in trade relations, enhance participation in decision-making at international level, and improve standards of living.
D-8 is a global arrangement rather than a regional one, as the composition of its members reflects.
Organization for Economic Cooperation (D-8) is a forum with no adverse impact on bilateral and multilateral commitments of the member countries, emanating from their membership to other international or regional organisations.
