Islamic D-8: can this intergovernmental organization help stabilize Southwest Asia and North Africa?

Islamic D-8: can this intergovernmental organization help stabilize Southwest Asia and North Africa?

    Tuesday, December 17, 2024   No comments

Cairo will host the 11th edition of the D8 Summit on Thursday, 19-12-2024, which will discuss ways to confront successive global economic and political changes. The summit will be held under the slogan "Investing in Youth and Supporting Small and Medium Enterprises: Shaping Tomorrow's Economy."

Egypt chairs the current edition of the summit, having assumed the presidency of the group last May and will continue to lead its work until the end of next year.

Several summits and bilateral meetings are scheduled to be held on the sidelines of the D8 Summit in Cairo, whether at the level of presidents or delegations participating in the conference.

The meeting of the foreign ministers of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan, Indonesia, Nigeria, Malaysia, and Bangladesh will be held tomorrow, Wednesday.

Several heads of state will be attending this summit this year, including Iran's president.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian plans to attend the summit of the Developing Eight (D8) Islamic countries in Egypt on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Tuesday. This is the first visit by an Iranian president to Egypt in more than a decade.

Relations between Egypt and Iran have generally been tense in recent decades, but the two countries have intensified high-level diplomatic contacts since the Gaza war broke out last year, in which Egypt has tried to mediate. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi traveled to Egypt in October to discuss regional issues with Egyptian officials, and his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdel Aty traveled to Tehran in July to attend Pezeshkian’s inauguration.

Indonesian president will attend D-8

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will travel to Egypt on Tuesday to attend meetings of a group of eight major Muslim nations known as the Developing Eight (D8) Economic Cooperation Organization, the government said.

Prabowo will attend meetings, including a D8 summit on Thursday, and accept the group’s chairmanship for a two-year term starting on Jan. 1, 2026, Foreign Ministry spokesman Roy Soemirat told reporters on Monday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will participate tomorrow, Wednesday, in the 21st meeting of the G8 Foreign Ministers Council, which will be held in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, within the framework of the D8 Summit.

According to diplomatic sources in the Turkish Foreign Ministry, the meeting will address developments in the Palestinian Gaza Strip and other regional issues.

During the meeting, Fidan is expected to call for an immediate end to the genocide committed by Israel in Palestine and its measures aimed at turning the war into a regional conflict.

He is also expected to point out the importance of advancing efforts to implement the two-state solution in conjunction with reaching an immediate ceasefire.

Fidan will highlight the importance of providing urgent humanitarian aid to Gaza and increasing support for the efforts of the workers of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

The meeting of the Foreign Ministers Council comes within the framework of preparing for the summit hosted by Cairo next Thursday, with the participation of delegations from the group's countries: Turkey, Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan, Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh.

The summit is scheduled to be held under the theme “Investing in Youth and Supporting SMEs: Shaping Tomorrow’s Economy.”

Attendance of the D-8 Summit in Cairo

The Indonesian government announced that President Prabowo Subianto will travel to Egypt today, Tuesday, to attend the group's meetings and the upcoming summit next Thursday, and will accept the group's presidency for a year.

In addition, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei announced that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will participate in the G8 Summit in Egypt.

The Pakistani Embassy in Cairo also confirmed that Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will pay an official visit to Egypt from December 18 to 20 to participate in the summit's activities.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi handed the Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati an invitation to participate in the summit's activities, as the Lebanese Prime Minister received the invitation from the Egyptian Ambassador Alaa Moussa, during his reception on December 9 at the Grand Serail.

The Middle East Eye website also reported that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will participate in the group's meeting and will hold meetings related to current developments in Syria.

About the D-8: the Developing Eight

The G8, also known as the Developing Eight, is a development cooperation system between the following member states: Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkey. This system also adds a new dimension aimed at strengthening economic relations and social ties among its members.

The G8 was officially established at the Summit of Heads of State and Government held in Istanbul on June 15, 1997 (Istanbul Declaration), following the "Cooperation for Development" Conference held on October 22, 1996 and a series of preparatory meetings.

The G8 aims to:

Improving the position of developing countries in the global economy.

Creating new opportunities in trade relations.

Enhancing the participation of developing countries in international decision-making.

Achieving better living standards.

The most important features of the G8:

It is a global system, not a regional one, as is clearly evident in its founding members.

Its membership is open to other developing countries that share the objectives and principles of the Group and are linked by common ties with it.

It is a forum that has no adverse effect on the bilateral and international obligations of its member states towards its membership and towards international organizations.

Media Review: Malaysia will not recognize the occupation entity under any circumstances

Media Review: Malaysia will not recognize the occupation entity under any circumstances

    Monday, November 18, 2024   No comments

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim affirmed his country's full commitment to supporting the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people in various international forums, stressing that Malaysia will not recognize the occupation entity under any circumstances.

Ibrahim indicated - in an interview with Aljazeera Mubasher - that he was subjected to great pressure due to his declared positions against Israel, but he stressed that his country will continue this approach without change.

In the context of his speech, the Malaysian Prime Minister likened the path of the former heads of the Hamas Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar, to the path of the late South African leader Nelson Mandela, who struggled to liberate his country from the apartheid regime.

Ibrahim called for the necessity of expelling Israel from the United Nations, noting that Malaysia is currently working on a draft resolution to submit to the United Nations General Assembly in light of the continued Israeli crimes against the Palestinians, including targeting civilians and hospitals. Malaysia has also submitted a request to the International Court of Justice to hold Israel accountable for its crimes in the Gaza Strip, stressing that it will continue its legal and diplomatic efforts in all regional and international forums.

Ibrahim said, "We have not left any international or regional forum without raising our voices loudly in it to support the rights of the Palestinian people and establish their independent state and work to end their tragedy."

Malaysia's Position

At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru, Ibrahim expressed his country's support for Palestine to US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, but noted that they "did not listen."

The prime minister accused these countries of colluding with Israel by remaining silent on the ongoing crimes in the Gaza Strip and the occupied territories since October 7, 2023. He wrote on the "X" platform that the West "continues to turn a blind eye to the atrocities committed by Israel, which makes it a de facto partner in these crimes against humanity."

Ibrahim stressed that his country continues to send humanitarian aid to Gaza, including treating wounded women and children in Malaysian hospitals. He also praised the role played by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in providing humanitarian relief, noting that Malaysia will continue to support its activities in the sector.

At the end of his speech, the Malaysian prime minister sent a message of solidarity to the Palestinian and Lebanese people, calling on them to stand firm in the face of challenges. "Stand firm, we are with you, we support you and we pray for your victory," he said.

In December 2023, Malaysia announced a ban on ships flying the Israeli flag and preventing ships heading to Israel from loading goods at its ports. The government explained that these measures come in response to Israel's continued violations of international law and humanitarian principles.

This position comes after a similar one was declared by Saudi Arabia, which stated that "normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel is not on the table until the "two-state solution" is achieved and a Palestinian state is established.

Russia: Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand are new partners in BRICS

Russia: Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand are new partners in BRICS

    Friday, November 15, 2024   No comments

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin revealed that Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have become partners in the BRICS bloc.

Pankin explained during a joint meeting of foreign and trade ministers of APEC member states that the BRICS summit held in Kazan "demonstrated the desire of the global majority to create a fair world order, with a focus on reforming international institutions and strengthening equal economic relations."

He also pointed out that "the summit resulted in a set of important agreements in the fields of trade, investment, artificial intelligence, energy, climate and logistics."

Pankin pointed out that "the share of the economies of the Asia-Pacific region in Russia's foreign trade has reached 70%, while about 90% of payments are made in national currencies."

In a related context, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister confirmed that his country continues to secure stable supplies of energy resources to the APEC countries.

It is noteworthy that the BRICS summit, which was held in Kazan between October 22 and 24, was attended by the heads of state of the group.

Mahathir Mohamad loses his seat in the Malaysian parliament

Mahathir Mohamad loses his seat in the Malaysian parliament

    Saturday, November 19, 2022   No comments

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, 97, lost his seat in parliament following the legislative elections that took place on Saturday, which threatens to put an end to the long career of this veteran politician who was hoping to return to the political scene.

Mahathir, who served as Malaysia's prime minister for more than two decades in two terms, failed to retain his parliamentary seat and came fourth in a competition contested by five candidates in the Langkawi island constituency.

The seat was won by a candidate from the National Alliance, which is led by another former prime minister, Muhyiddin Yassin.

Mahathir leads a coalition that pledged to overthrow the current National Front coalition government on the grounds of accusations of corruption, but his alliance is not a major competitor, as the Front faces two other major coalitions, the Muhyiddin bloc and another led by Anwar Ibrahim, Mahathir's arch-rival for a long time.

Mahathir said in an interview with Reuters this month that he would retire from politics if he lost.

Millions of voters went to the polls to participate in the national elections, which were called early, in an attempt to end the political instability.

The election is the first since the historic vote in 2018, when the party, which has ruled the Southeast Asian country since its independence in 1957, was defeated in the wake of a multibillion-dollar corruption scandal.

A single party is unlikely to win an outright majority in the 222-seat House of Representatives, and the majority of the major parties have campaigned under one banner, in a race between three major alliances.

Three successive prime ministers in the country within 3 years, including Mahathir Mohamad, 97, who ruled Malaysia for more than two decades during two terms in power.

The economic issue emerges as a priority for parties and voters alike. According to a survey prepared by the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research, it was found that 74% of respondents consider the economy a priority, followed by political stability and corruption.