Abuja (TDI): The D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation took a step toward deepening intra-group trade integration at the 9th Session of the Supervisory Committee (SC) of the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), held on Monday in Nigeria, in a hybrid format.
The Session was chaired by Ambassador Nura Abba Rimi, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment of Nigeria.
Senior officials from the D-8 Member States—Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Türkiye—participated in the Session, both in person and virtually.
The Secretary General of the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, Ambassador Sohail Mahmood, addressed the Committee, delivering his first statement in this capacity.
Setting a forward-looking tone, the Secretary-General underscored that the PTA must evolve into a more effective and results-driven instrument for economic cooperation.
He called for a decisive shift from negotiation to implementation, emphasizing that “the credibility of the PTA will ultimately be measured by its impact on real trade flows.”
He highlighted priority areas including the rationalization of tariff concessions in line with trade realities, the removal of procedural bottlenecks through enhanced trade facilitation and customs cooperation, and the systematic integration of the private sector into the PTA framework.
He further stressed that strengthening analytical capacity and mobilizing adequate technical resources will be critical to sustaining momentum and ensuring evidence-based expansion of the Agreement.
The Supervisory Committee conducted a comprehensive review of the PTA’s implementation and assessed recent trade trends among Member States. While intra-D-8 trade continues to show encouraging growth, the Committee acknowledged that its share remains below potential.
Participants emphasized the urgency of adopting more targeted, coordinated, and measurable actions to unlock greater trade volumes and diversify trade flows within the bloc.
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A key outcome of the Session was the advancement of work on expanding the scope and depth of the PTA. The Committee reviewed progress made by the Expert Working Group on the Expansion of the D8 PTA, formally adopted the EWG’s TOR and reports of its four meetings and discussed the EWG’s first technical report (“Initial Report”).
These outputs mark an important milestone toward transforming the PTA into a more comprehensive, modern, and commercially meaningful framework.
The Session also marked a leadership transition within the Supervisory Committee. Member States expressed appreciation for Nigeria’s stewardship over the past two years, recognizing its role in advancing the Committee’s technical agenda.
Indonesia was unanimously elected as the new Chair for the next two-year term, reaffirming its commitment to further strengthening D-8 trade cooperation ahead of hosting the upcoming Trade Ministerial Council.
The next Session of the Supervisory Committee will be convened at a date and venue to be announced by
the incoming Chair.
