D-8 Summit begins with Turkey's call to trade in local currencies

ISTANBUL, Oct 20 (KUNA) -- The scheduled ninth summit of the Developing 8 (D-8), themed "Expanding Opportunities through Cooperation," kicked off on Friday, marking the 20th anniversary of the organization.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, addressing the summiteers, urged the eight member States to conduct trade transactions among themselves with their national currencies.
He also called on these countries' central banks to cooperate and establish what he termed as a "swap chamber.
"We cannot accept that the organization remain the same in a world where everything is changing," he said, urging the member countries to seek to make it stronger and more effective.
Earlier, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi inaugurated the session in his capacity as its chair. He would hand over the chairmanship to Turkey during today's meeting.
The organization, which groups Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Egypt, and Nigeria was founded on June 15, 1997, for boosting cooperation at the economic and social levels. (end) ta.rk