Eight developing Muslim countries grouping D-8 expressed their solidarity with the Palestinian people amid the ongoing conflict with Israel in a joint declaration agreed on Monday at the official level meeting in Dhaka.
D-8 Commissioner of Bangladesh Wahida Ahmed, Director General of the foreign ministry’s international organizations wing, chaired the 47th Session of the D-8 Commission.
“We, the Commissioners of the Developing-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation and the Heads of Delegations from the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Republic of Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Malaysia, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Republic of Türkiye, gathering for our 47th Session in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 22-23 October 2023, express our profound condolences to the Palestinian people for the huge loss of lives and suffering that are caused by the ongoing besiege and bombardment of Gaza, Palestine,” read the joint communique.
“We pray that Allah, the Almighty, grants the Palestinians consolation and strength in their just struggle to establish a sovereign, independent and viable State of Palestine.”
“We are deeply concerned over the blatant violation of human rights and international humanitarian law by the Israeli military aggression in Palestine that caused immense sufferings for the Palestinians, mostly women and children.”
“We call for immediate cessation of hostilities and stopping the crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip, Palestine.We call for opening a humanitarian corridor inside Gaza to ensure humanitarian assistance and the provision of basic human needs to all Palestinians.”
“We call upon all member states to provide humanitarian assistance immediately, including collaborating with relevant international organizations, such as the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA),” read the statement.
Earlier, during the inaugural session on Sunday, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen urged them to adopt a joint declaration to express solidarity and support for the Palestinian People.
“In line with the proposal of Foreign Secretary, the D-8 Commissioners adopted a statement titled ‘Joint Communique of the D-8 Commission on Solidarity with Palestinian People’ on the second-day of the D-8 Commission,” the foreign ministry said.
Apart from that, the D-8 Commissioners discussed the issues related to the six priority areas of cooperation of D-8, such as trade, agriculture and food security, industrial cooperation, energy and minerals, transportation and tourism.
Additionally, the D-8 Commissioners discussed the possibility of mainstreaming climate change, disaster management, and economic empowerment of women issues in the D-8.
In the meeting, the Chair and the D-8 Commissioner of Bangladesh updated the Commission on the establishment of the D-8 Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Bangladesh and invited the Member States for a site visit in the proposed Zones for the D-8 SEZ.
The chair also updated the meeting on the progress made regarding the establishment of D-8 Youth Council in Dhaka.
The current President of the D-8 Chamber of Commerce and Industry (D-8 CCI) Sheikh Fazle Fahim briefed the D-8 Commissioners about the update on the activities of the D-8 CCI and invited the Member States to participate in the 3rd General Assembly of the D-8 Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina assumed Chairmanship of the D-8 from the President of Turkey at the 10th D-8 Summit on 08 April 2021.