Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirajuda said in Nusa on Thursday that the D-8 member countries had potentials which needed to be synergized to become an economic power.

"The member countries of the D-8 have potentials which need to be synergized to become an economic power," Minister Hassan Wirajuda said in his inaugural remarks of the ministerial level meeting of the D-8.

The D-8 meeting was being held in a challenging situation as the on-going globalization had weakened the position of developing countries, he said.

The D-8 Summit must be used by member countries as an opportunity to pave the way for maximal utilization of their potentials, he added.

"Concrete actions must be taken to step up trade and investment, " the minister said.

The D-8 Summit is expected to produce two agreements on the economic sector, namely Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) and an agreement on customs and excise administrative assistance among the member countries.

The two agreements aim at boosting trade cooperation among the D-8 members, which have a common goal of creating sustainable welfare of their peoples.

With the optimal implementation of the two agreements, D-8 could have an effective trade mechanism, said Wirajuda.

The total trade value of D-8 countries in 1997 was at 14.5 billion U.S. dollars and increased to 21.3 billion dollars in 2003. The member countries have agreed to further raise the total trade value to 30 billion dollars in 2006.

Established in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 15, 1997, the D ( Development) - 8 consists of Indonesia, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Bangladesh and Pakistan - developing countries with population of Muslims as majority.

The D-8 leaders, in the meeting which lasts from 10 to 12, will discuss strategic ways of enhancing trade and economic cooperation which could effectively help deal with basic problems such as poverty.

The countries' leaders will issue a Bali Declaration reflecting their concerns about several global issues during their fifth Summit.

On the sidelines of the Summit, a Business Forum will be held on May 11, 2006, and a Trade Exhibition, from May 9 to 13.

Source: Xinhua