CAIRO, Dec 16 (MENA) - Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates Badr Abdelatty will on Tuesday hold a series of meetings with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Iran's Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araqchi, and Acting Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh M. Riaz Hamidullah.

The meetings will take place at the ministry's headquarters in the New Administrative Capital, just ahead of the 48th D-8 Commission Meeting and the 21st Council of Ministers Meeting, in preparation for the 11th Summit of the Developing Eight (D-8) Member States, set for December 18-20 under the theme "Investing in Youth and Supporting Small and Medium Enterprises: Shaping Tomorrow's Economy."

The D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation is an organization for economic cooperation among the following countries: Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkey.

The establishment of D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation was announced officially through the Istanbul Declaration of the Summit of Heads of State/Government on June 15, 1997.

The objectives of the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation are to improve member states’ positions in the global economy, diversify and create new opportunities in trade relations, enhance participation in decision-making at the international level, and improve standards of living. (MENA)

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