D-8 Secretary-General to Al-Shorouk: $20 Billion Increase in Trade Exchange Among Group Countries by 2025

The Secretary-General of the Developing Eight Countries Group (D-8), Isyaka Abdul Qader Imam, estimated the increase in trade exchange among the group’s countries during this year at about $20 billion, in exclusive statements to "Al-Shorouk".

Imam said, on the sidelines of the group’s trade ministers’ meetings held in Cairo at the beginning of this December, that trade exchange among the group’s countries rose from $14 billion at the time of its establishment in 1997 to $150 billion last year, "and although we have not calculated the trade exchange figure for this year (2025), it may reach $170 billion by the end of the year."

The Developing Eight Countries Group includes Egypt, Turkey, Nigeria (the home country of Isyaka Abdul Qader Imam), Bangladesh, Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Pakistan.

Imam added in his statements to "Al-Shorouk": "The group started in 1997, about 28 years ago, but now we are more active and trying to increase trade exchange among our countries."

He continued: "Even with the increase from $150 billion to the expected $170 billion in 2025, the figure is still very small compared to the population of our countries, which reaches 1.2 billion people. We aim to increase trade exchange among our countries to at least $500 billion by 2030."

Imam reviewed the elements of the group’s plan to increase trade exchange, foremost among them: encouraging small projects to increase trade exchange among themselves, "since most companies in our countries like Egypt, Indonesia, and Nigeria are small projects, so we want to support and encourage them to export their products more."

In response to Al-Shorouk’s question about why the focus is on small projects despite their limited production scale and higher production costs compared to large ones, which negatively affects exports, Imam said: "Yes, that’s why we want to support them and train them on how to improve their products, because that will reflect on costs and make them more attractive for export, as groups. We have a training center, and this does not mean that we will collect the products and export them on their behalf. We are the group’s secretariat, and our role is to guide them and inform them about which markets to go to."

For example, if projects in Egypt do not know how to export to Malaysia or Indonesia, this center trains them and informs them about the required quality and prices in those markets, according to Imam.

Hassan Al-Khatib, Egypt’s Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, confirmed the importance of the fourth meeting of trade ministers of the Developing Eight Islamic Countries for Economic Cooperation held in Cairo, noting that the Cairo Charter includes a main axis related to supporting small and medium enterprises and startups, which represent about 75% of the national output in many economies.

During the meetings, Al-Khatib explained that enhancing their competitiveness requires providing appropriate financing, technical support, and a regulatory environment that allows their growth, considering them the biggest driver for job creation and supporting shared value chains among countries.

Al-Khatib pointed to the importance of involving the private sector in upcoming meetings and working on establishing business forums that include investors and sectors concerned with increasing intra-trade, clarifying that the next steps after adopting the Cairo Charter will contribute to enhancing economic integration and raising investment rates, positively reflecting on the Egyptian economy and helping expand job opportunities and improve development levels.

For his part, Imam explained in his statements to "Al-Shorouk" that there are many obstacles hindering the activation of trade among the group’s countries, foremost among them logistical obstacles.

He said: "We operate across three continents, two countries from Africa, two from Europe, and the rest from Asia, which means there is a geographical challenge leading to high transportation costs due to long distances."