Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit Cairo from December 18-20 to participate in the Developing Eight (D8) Summit, the Foreign Office (FO) announced on Monday.

The D8, comprising Pakistan, Egypt, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Indonesia, Iran and Turkiye, is “an organisation for economic cooperation” among those countries, according to the organisation’s website.

In an earlier summit in June, the alliance demanded full Palestinian membership of the United Nations and greater international pressure on Israel for a ceasefire in Gaza.

While addressing the meeting in June, Dar strongly condemned the use of hunger and starvation by Israeli forces and urged the international community to take action to stop this “collective punishment unleashed on the Palestinians”.

According to a press release, the PM “will undertake an official visit to Egypt” for the summit, while Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar “will attend the 21st Session of the D-8 Council of Ministers on 18 December 2024”.

“The theme of the 11th D-8 Summit is ‘Investing in Youth and Supporting SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises): Shaping Tomorrow’s Economy’”, the press release read.

The FO added that while attending the summit, the PM will “underline the importance of investing in youth and SMEs for building a strong and inclusive economy; creating jobs; advancing innovation; and promoting local entrepreneurship”.

The PM would also “express Pakistan’s strong commitment to the ideals of D-8; underscore the importance of fostering partnerships for mutual benefit and prosperity; and promoting cooperation in agriculture, food security and tourism,” the FO said.

PM Shehbaz is also expected to attend the Special Session of D-8 on the Humanitarian Crisis and Reconstruction Challenges in Gaza and Lebanon, to “deliberate on the situation resulting from Israeli aggression in the Middle East”.

He would underline Pakistan’s position on the situation in the region and call for peace, the statement read.

Additionally, the PM is expected to hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit, the FO said.