Counterterrorism Blog

As the G-8 plows forward in Hokkaido with its solutions to counter soaring crude oil prices, global inflation and increasing protectionism, in Kuala Lumpur, the Summit of the Developing Nations, or D-8, consisting of the eight most populous Islamic nations, will be announcing its own initiatives to strengthen economic development and governance in the D-8 member states of Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.

Two years ago, meeting in Bali, the D-8 signed trade agreements to push trade, emphasized the need for universal membership of the WTO and called on members of the WTO to accelerate the accession process for all developing countries. Moreover, the D-8 urged two years ago that developing countries cooperate to develop alternative and renewable energy resources, among others bio-fuel, biomass, hydro, solar, wind; to address "the digital divide between the developed and developing countries," and to develop emerging technologies, including biotechnology. Unsurprisingly, the D-8 also called for the peaceful use of nuclear energy -- a principle demanded by Iran -- but one also supported by the G-8 as well.

Two years later, as the heads of state were meeting in Kuala Lumpur, both the promise and the limits of the D-8 process remained evident. The proposed D-8 Preferential Tariff Agreement (PTA) on selected goods of member countries remained stalled as only Malaysia and Iran of the four states necessary for it to come into force had ratified the agreement. As the summit began, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi was emphasizing the importance of securing that agreement in order to accelerate intra D-8 trade beyond its current level of $60 billion per year. Malaysia was also emphasizing that strengthening manufacturing activities in sectors such as food, textile, electrical and electronics as well as the oil and gas industries would drive growth in trade, and thereby drive development and jobs. Malaysia's pragmatic agenda for the D-8 included the signing of customs agreements and visa agreements between member states to facilitate the movement of goods and to enable smooth travel of the business community from one member state to another.

Finally, Malaysia said it would propose that nations which gain windfalls from soaring oil prices share their profits with other developing member states hit by the current energy crisis.

There is an obvious congruence between the D-8 agenda to the G-8 agenda, which deals with each of these issues. But interesting, the D-8 agenda, while less comprehensive, is in its core area of trade, customs, and visas, more concrete than anything in the vast list of G-8 initiatives.

Notably, at the end of the D-8 summit, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will attend the final day of the G-8 summit, to speak on food security and on climate change, thus potentially uniting the thinking of the D-8 with that of the G-8.

What is remarkable here is the degree of convergence and agreement on this agenda between the leaders of the most developed economies in the world (annual incomes circa $44,000 per capita to $32,000 per capita) and the diverse countries that make up the D-8, whose incomes range from prosperous Malaysia ($5500 per capita) to impoverished Bangladesh ($480 per capita), and which include the otherwise problematic country of Iran.

The world may not be as far apart in some central policy issues as we might think.