VZCZCXRO5120
PP RUEHDE
DE RUEHIT #0437 1440933
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 240933Z MAY 07
FM AMCONSUL ISTANBUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7060
INFO RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA PRIORITY 0014
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 6608
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO PRIORITY 0099
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 0008
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 0424
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA PRIORITY 0014
RUEHKL/AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR PRIORITY 0012
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI PRIORITY 0108
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS ISTANBUL 000437 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
USDA/FAS/OCRA/JFLEMINGS 
USDA/FAS/OFSO/JDEVER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECIN PREL TU IR
SUBJECT: THE D-8 SECRETARIAT: AN INSTITUTION IN SEARCH OF A 
MISSION 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  We met recently with Dipo Alam, the newly 
arrived Secretary General of the Developing Eight (D-8) 
organization.  According to Alam the D-8's primary focus is 
fostering economic development through closer trade ties 
among the member states as well as cooperation with the 
United States and the European Union.  It remains to be seen 
however, whether the D-8 can carve out a niche as an 
effective non-regionally-based multilateral organization. 
End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) The Secretariat of the "Developing Eight" (D-8) group 
of countries rotates every two years among the member states 
- Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, 
Pakistan , and Turkey - and is currently based in Istanbul. 
Secretary General Dipo Alam described the organization as a 
 
SIPDIS 
grouping that grew out of the Organization of the Islamic 
Conference (OIC) in the late 1990's and is now focused on 
trade and economic cooperation among the member states. 
According to Alam, the impetus for the creation of the 
organization was a friendship between then-Turkish President 
Erbakan and then-Indonesian President Habibi, both of whom 
were graduates of Aachen University in Germany.  The D-8 was 
established on June 15, 1997 in Istanbul.  The organization 
holds a summit meeting every two years and meets annually at 
the foreign minister level on the margins of UNGA.  The next 
summit meeting will take place in Kuala Lumpur in 2008. 
 
¶3. (U) On May 14, 2006, at the Bali Summit seven of the eight 
member states (all except Bangladesh) signed a preferential 
trade agreement designed to promote cooperation and foster 
trade among the member states.  The D-8 has an internal trade 
volume of approximately $31 billion and a combined population 
of over 800 million, approximately 14% of the world 
population.  Alam expressed his hope that internal trade 
would double or triple as a result of the agreement, but 
agreed that the geographically diverse nature of the group 
complicated this effort. 
 
¶4. (U) Alam expressed his organization's interest in 
increasing exports to both the United States and European 
Union.  He sought assistance in learning more about 
regulations governing the export of agricultural products, 
particularly organics, to the United States as well as more 
detail on environmental regulations that might affect 
agricultural trade.  Alam cited alternative energy, 
particularly the production of biodiesel or other biofuels 
from palm oil or olive oil as a subject of particular 
interest for the D-8, noting that a working group on 
alternative energy would meet in Cairo in the autumn. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Comment:  Alam is an engaging interlocutor, 
U.S.-educated and familiar with the workings of the U.S. 
government courtesy in part to his wife's tenure as an 
employee of the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta.  However, it is 
unclear whether the D-8 will evolve a unique development 
role.  In separate conversations with us and Ankara-based FAS 
counselor Alam was unable to describe how the D-8 would bring 
something new to the table that would distinguish it from 
other regional or sub-regional groupings.  End Comment. 
JONES