FM in Bali to attend D-8 Summit

He was received at the Bali Ngurah Rai International Airport in a traditional welcoming ceremony. He will represent Prime Minister Khaleda Zia at the Summit to be held here on Saturday.

Morshed Khan's schedule upon arrival in Bali included participation at the D-8 council meeting, which deliberated and prepared the Bali Declaration and recommended for its approval by the Summit.

During the Ministerial Meeting, Bangladesh's role as the lead nation for rural development sector was highly appreciated by the D-8 members. Bangladesh's offer to host a D-8 workshop on rural development in Dhaka this year was also praised.

During his interventions, Morshed Khan shared information with the members of D-8 on Bangladesh's experiences in its development efforts.

He said other member countries can benefit from Bangladesh's successes in implementing home grown ideas for rural development. He said empowerment of rural women through encouraging self-employment is something that many countries of the world are replicating.

Earlier, Indonesia assumed the Chairmanship of the Ministerial Meeting succeeding Iran. The meeting also discussed organisational aspects of the D-8 and ways and means for strengthening its Secretariat.

On the sidelines of Ministerial Meeting, International Trade and Customs Minister of Turkey Kursad Tuzmen held discussion on bilateral and international issues with Morshed Khan.

The Turkish minister said Khaleda's visit to his country will contribute positively to enhancement of the existing relation between the two countries.

Morshed Khan said the Prime Minister's visit will effectively be followed up to further strengthen bilateral economic cooperation between the two countries.

In this context, he requested the Turkish Minister to propose an early date for holding the Joint Economic Commission meeting.

D-8 is an economic forum of eight Muslim countries namely Bangladesh, Egypt, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Iran, Turkey and Nigeria.