Pres. Jonathan advocates for greater interaction amongst D8 nations

President Goodluck Jonathan has called on member countries at the D-8 Summit to encourage exchange of visits among Heads of Government in order to maintain closer cooperation to make the D-8 the engine of growth and prosperity in various countries. The President who stated this at the ongoing D-8 Summit in Islamabad, Pakistan on Wednesday said he believed “working together to promote shared vision and common objectives could build the D-8 into a model of successful south-south cooperation.”
“When I took over the leadership of our Organization I had the intention of visiting all our Member Countries. However, because of the demands of governance, I was only able to visit Turkey. It is still my fervent desire to pay a visit to other member countries of our Organization in that spirit. Let me seize this opportunity to appeal to Your Excellencies, especially our incoming Chairman, to try and encourage exchange of visits among Heads of State and Government. This, I believe, will bring our countries, peoples and their Governments closer, because such visits will open other vistas of cooperation among the D-8 countries” he said.
President Jonathan who handed over as the Chair of the D-8 to President of the Islamic Republic Pakistan, H.E. Asif Zardari, noted the achievements of the D-8
in the last two years.
“Some of our notable achievements in the past two years include the entry into force of the D-8 Preferential Trade Agreement in August 2011; the Multi-lateral Agreement among D-8 Countries on Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters, which came into force in October 2011. The Agreement of Simplification of Visa Procedures for Businessmen of the D-8 Member States, which had been ratified much earlier, completes the three main Agreements pivotal to trade promotion and cooperation among D-8 countries.”
“The ratification of these Agreements by almost all Member States attests to the faith we all have in the D-8 as a viable platform for fostering economic and trade relations among our various countries. Fully implemented, these agreements have the potential of boosting D-8 intra-trade volume to much higher levels” he said.
He highlighted that “the Abuja Declaration of 2010 directed the Commission to finalize work on the draft D-8 Charter, the Statutory Documents and the Global Vision. The conclusion of work on these core documents remains one of the major accomplishments of our Organization in the last two years.”
The President mentioned that the driving force propelling the member countries’ programmes and activities is an empowered private sector. “I believe this is the right road to take, because it reflects our shared vision to limit the role of governments in the day-to-day activities of the D-8 to merely that of catalysts and enablers of economic and trade cooperation among our various countries.”
He commended the D-8 Member countries for their strong support and strong commitment during his tenure as Chair. “I also must acknowledge the commendable work done by the outgoing Secretary-General of our Organisation, Dr. Widi Agoes Pratikto, whose tenure coincided with Nigeria’s stewardship of the D-8. Dr Pratikto worked closely with Nigeria during the past two years, and always displayed great passion and professionalism in his work. I wish him well and success in his future endeavors” he also noted.
President Jonathan pledged Nigeria’s support to President Zardari, and assured that the country will remain an active collaborator with other D-8 family members.