Turkey seeks trade in local currencies among D-8 states

By Burcu Arik & Nilay Kar Onum

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkey is looking to conduct trade with the Developing-8 countries in local currencies, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday.

Speaking at the D-8 Summit in Istanbul, Erdogan said that member states should take further steps to boost the economy of the organization.

"If we can pave the way for using our national currencies in trade among our countries, we will make a revolution in the D-8 history. There is no need to dissolve our economies under the pressure of exchange rate," the president said.

Turkey is hosting the summit this year, taking over the charge from Pakistan.

The event, marking 20 years of the eight-country alliance, is being held under the theme ‘Expanding Opportunities through Cooperation’.

Among the participants are the Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, the Iranian First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri and the Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

Erdogan also urged the member states to bring together their central banks to establish a clearing house.

"We all have to embrace the D-8 and make efforts to increase its efficiency, productivity and strength,” he added.

“We have the potential of wide-range cooperation in many fields; from good agricultural practices to clean energy, transportation to environment and education,” he said.

The Turkish president suggested the need to include new members in the organization.

“In a world, where everything changes, it is never acceptable that D-8 remains unchanged.”

The D-8 was founded by the then Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan in 1997.

Formed as an economic alliance, the body consists of Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.

At present, the organization has a combined GDP of $3.7 trillion and includes more than one billion people -- around 15 percent of the world’s population.

Two of its members -- Turkey and Indonesia -- are among the group of the world’s 20 biggest economies.

Anadolu Agency is the official photographer for the event.