The second meeting of agricultural ministers of eight developing Islamic countries (D8) was inaugurated in Tehran on Monday-MNA reports.
Agriculture ministers of Iran, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey are participating in the three-day meeting.
In addressing the current situation of soaring food and agricultural input prices, the government of Iran had offered D8 member countries to host the 2nd agricultural ministerial meeting on food security, few months ago. The meeting is scheduled to be continued by May 18.
D8 Secretary General, Widi Pratikto said in the inauguration ceremony of the meeting that the spirit of D8 is economic cooperation in agriculture sector. "We hope by holding the meeting, we can improve welfare and food safety for people of all countries especially D8 members", he added.
The idea of cooperation among major muslin developing countries was mooted by Turkey, during a Seminar on "Cooperation in Development" which was held in Istanbul in October 1996
The establishment of D8 was announced officially through the Istanbul Declaration of Summit of Heads of State/Government on June 15, 1997.
The objectives of D8 Organization for Economic Cooperation are to improve member states' position in the global economy, diversify and create new opportunities in trade relations, enhance participation in decision-making at international level, and improve standards of living