D8 member states

The Developing 8 (D-8 or Developing Eight) are a group of developing countries with large Muslim populations that have formed an economic development alliance. It consists of Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkey.

The D-8 was founded by Necmettin Erbakan, former Turkish Prime Minister.^[1][2][3] The group was established after an announcement in Istanbul, Turkey on June 15, 1997. Membership is open to countries other than the current member-states, though no expansion is currently planned.^[4]

As stated by the D8 Facts and Figures Publication: "The objectives of D-8 are to improve developing countries' positions in the world economy, diversify and create new opportunities in trade relations, enhance participation in decision-making at the international level, and provide better standards of living." The main areas of cooperation include finance, banking, rural development, science and technology, humanitarian development, agriculture, energy, environment, and health.

Structure

The Developing 8 is organized into three bodies:

• the Summit,
• the Council,
• the Commission.

The Summit, which is convened every two years, has the highest level of authority, and is composed of the leaders of each member state.

The Council is the principal decision making body and forum for consideration of issues relating to the D8, and is composed of foreign affairs ministers sent from each member state.

The Commission has executive authority, and is composed of Commissioners appointed by each member state's government. Commissioners are responsible for promoting compliance of D8 directives in their respective nation. Finally, an executive director is appointed by D8 members to facilitate communication and to act in a supervisory capacity during each summit or lower-level assembly.

D8 member states
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina  Egypt Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed ForcesMohamed Hussein Tantawi  Indonesia President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono  Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad  Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak  Nigeria President Goodluck Jonathan  Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani  Turkey President Abdullah Gül

Recent and Planned D8 Summits

Number	Date	Country	Place
1	1998	Turkey	Istanbul
2	1999	Bangladesh	Dhaka
3	2001	Egypt	Cairo
4	2004	Iran	Tehran
5	2006	Indonesia	Bali
6	2008	Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur
7	2010	Nigeria	Abuja
8	2011	Turkey	Istanbul
9	2012	Pakistan	Karachi