D8 is a group of developing countries with large Muslim populations that have formed an economic development alliance. It includes Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkey. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from Iran will attend the meeting on Thursday.
On the objectives of D8, Mr. Qorban Oqli told Khabar Online: "The D8 which was founded by former Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan comprises the member states forming a group with a limited power. Actually having great expectations would cause D8 to become ineffective, since these countries are to establish their status in the world."
"The African Union has been established while its influential members attend G8 meetings [a forum for the governments of 8 developed countries including: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada] as observers. On the sidelines of the G8 sessions they set the development projects in Africa on the agenda of powerful industrialized state members," he said.
The African Union (AU) is an intergovernmental organization consisting of 53 African countries. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organization of African Unity (OAU). The most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states.
Qorban Oqli explained more on the African Union approach: "The AU members never conceive of ambitions derived out of sloganeering. On the contrary they indeed try to meet their demands by adopting wise policies and so far have achieved valuable goals in terms of campaigning against AIDS, the development of African countries and pursuing worldwide policies in their continent."
"D8 which also includes developing countries is not expected to back Iranian nuclear program in a way leading to confrontation with the world powers. In other words, although the members are committed to their alliance, they are adherent to international conventions and resolutions passed by the United Nations Security Council as well," the former Iran's ambassador to South Africa pointed out.
"At first we must bear in mind that looking forward to the massive support of D8 to Iran's nuclear activities would be unrealistic. The founders of the group were trying to establish a model for the developing Muslim countries to boost their powers in terms of economy and political development. They attempted to create a regional union which could influence international scene of the politics," he explained.
On 8 approaches Qorban Oqli further said: "The founders of the group were not after confrontation, they rather emphasized on interaction. In the contemporary world, the countries are trying to use the potential of the unions and alliances in their region or elsewhere to materialize their aims. They seek to turn their coalitions into powerful and influential blocks enabled to play significant roles on the political world scene."
"If Iranian officials try to involve 8 states member in our nuclear challenge which is an international and intrinsically quite political challenge, they must know that firstly these countries would shun accepting such challenge. Secondly even if they fully support the Islamic Republic's position on the issue, their approach will turn to a confrontational policy leading to the isolation of these states in the world which is at odds with the statute of the group. So it seems unlikely that they adopt a confrontational policy with the world powers and endanger their interests," he added.
The former Foreign Ministry official concluded: "In the final analysis it is predicted that D8 will suffice to a series of verbal supports of Iran's atomic program which may simply be utilized by the Islamic Republic for political propagations."
The Developing 8 does not have a large impact on the affairs of more influential international organizations such as the United Nationsand others. The purpose of the organization is to coordinate the efforts of each member state and not necessarily to join together in order to increase each member's collective influence in global politics. Since each member is still able to act unilaterally without severe repercussions from any other member, the potential bargaining power of the organization is somewhat limited.
As stated by the D8 Facts and Figures Publication: "The objectives of D-8 are to improve developing countries' positions in the world economy, diversify and create new opportunities in trade relations, enhance participation in decision-making at the international level and provide better standards of living." The main areas of cooperation include finance, banking, rural development, science and technology, humanitarian development, agriculture, energy, environment, and health.
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