TDS Desk:

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus will attend the 11th D-8 Summit which will be held in Cairo, Egypt on December 19.

The Chief Adviser is scheduled to leave Dhaka for Cairo, Egypt early Wednesday (December 18), his Deputy Press Secretary Apurba Jahangir told UNB without elaborating further.

Dr Yunus is likely to have a number of meetings on the sidelines of the Summit and preparations are underway, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This week marks a “pivotal moment” for the D-8 with the 48th Session of the D-8 Commission meeting held in Cairo.

Over the next few days, key discussions will unfold, culminating in the 21st Session of the D-8 Council of Foreign Ministers on December 18 and the highly anticipated 11th D-8 Summit on December 19.

These meetings will bring together leaders to strengthen economic cooperation and outline a shared vision for sustainable development among member states.

The D-8 Organisation for Economic Cooperation, also known as Developing-8, is an organisation for development cooperation among Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkey.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, among others, are scheduled to join Prof Yunus at the Summit.

Shehbaz Sharif will visit Cairo from December 18-20 to participate in the Developing Eight (D8) Summit.

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

Earlier, Egypt invited Chief Adviser Prof Yunus to attend the D-8 Summit.

At the Summit, Indonesia will accept the D-8 chairmanship from the current chair, Egypt, for the 2026-2027 period.

Indonesia’s chairmanship of the D-8 organization will begin on January 1, 2026.

The role of D-8 is increasingly important in the joint efforts to strengthen global awareness of the situation in Palestine, especially in the Gaza Strip, which is still under Israeli aggression.

The D-8 Summit in Cairo, which will be held under the theme “Investing in Youth and Supporting Small Medium Enterprises, Shaping Tomorrow’s Economy,” reflects the organization’s focus on youth and MSMEs issues for the future economy.