TURKEY SEEKS TRADE IN LOCAL CURRENCIES WITH D-8 STATES

Turkey is looking to conduct trade with D-8 countries in local currencies, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Oct. 20. Speaking at the D-8 Summit in Istanbul, Erdogan said member states should take further steps to boost the economy of the organization. “If we can pave the way for using our national currencies in trade among our countries, we will make a revolution in D-8 history. There is no need to dissolve our economies under pressure of the exchange rate,” the president added. Turkey succeeded Pakistan in hosting the summit this year.

The event, marking 20 years of the eight-country alliance, is being held under the theme ‘Expanding Opportunities through Cooperation’. Among the participants were Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Iranian First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri and Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

Erdogan also urged the member states to bring together their central banks to establish a clearing house. “We all have to embrace the D-8 and make efforts to increase its efficiency, productivity and strength,” he added. “We have the potential for wide-range cooperation in many fields, from good agricultural practices to clean energy, transportation to environment and education,” he said. Erdogan also suggested the need to include new members in the organization. “In a world, where everything changes, it is never acceptable that the D-8 remains unchanged.”

The D-8 was founded by then-Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan in 1997. Formed as an economic alliance, the body consists of Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey. At present, the organization has a combined GDP of $3.7 trillion and includes more than one billion people – around 15% of the world’s population. Two of its members – Turkey and Indonesia – are among the world’s 20 largest economies.