KUALA LUMPUR, July 8: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has called for promoting trade amongst D8 member states, which currently stands at $60.5 billion.

Addressing the sixth D8 Summit here he stressed the need to prioritise the targets of the 10-year roadmap for the second decade and for creation of more conducive environment for closer private sector collaboration to harness vast resources in the region for the benefit of the people of Muslim brotherly states

Pakistan’s trade with D-8 member states that include Iran, Turkey, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Egypt, Indonesia and Malaysia, accounts for eight per cent of its total international trade that is highest when compared to comparative data of other member countries.

Mr. Gilani hailed the D-8 roadmap for economic cooperation in the second decade. He, however, suggested, “We should prioritise area of cooperation and focus on some selected projects with timeline and verifiable indicators for effective monitoring and evaluation”.

He appreciated the renewed focus to associate private sector to enhance economic cooperation. “Private sector will be the engine of growth for our countries as we move forward. The summit offers an occasion for the private sector from D-8 countries to interact with each other and explore ways and means to further enhance intra D-8 trade”.The prime minister invited investors from D-8 nations to invest in Pakistan that he said is a “liberalised market-oriented economy with abundant opportunities for investors”.

He said that the country is located at the confluence of south, central and south west Asia can serve as an energy and trade corridor for the region. He projected Pakistan as an attractive investment destination also because, “foreign companies are free to repatriate their profits abroad”.

He repeated his resolve to