The head of the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation concluded a two-day visit to Ankara focused on turning the bloc's economic agenda into concrete partnerships in technology, research, industry and capacity-building, the organization said.
D-8 Secretary-General Sohail Mahmood held talks with Turkish officials and representatives from academia, industry, research institutions and Parliament during his Aug. 17-18 visit.
Mahmood met Türkiye's D-8 Commissioner Aylin Sekizkök at the Foreign Ministry, where the two discussed efforts to strengthen the organization's institutional capacity, broaden sectoral cooperation and deepen engagement among member states and international partners.
The talks also focused on improving the D-8's effectiveness and international profile and translating decisions taken by the organization into tangible results.
Mahmood thanked Türkiye, a founding D-8 member and host of the organization's secretariat, for its continued support under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
He also welcomed Türkiye's hosting of the first D-8 International Ministerial Meeting on Environment in Istanbul in July and the adoption of the Istanbul Declaration, which aims to strengthen coordination among member states on climate action ahead of COP31 under Türkiye's presidency.
During a meeting with Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk, director-general of the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), Mahmood discussed expanding cooperation in statistics, socioeconomic research, training and capacity-building.
The sides agreed to pursue joint conferences, workshops and other activities and consider establishing a more formal framework for cooperation.
Mahmood also met Ramazan Erdağ, head of the Turkish Foreign Ministry's Center for Strategic Research (SAM), as part of efforts to expand the D-8's engagement with think tanks, universities, policy experts and young people.
They discussed potential joint research projects, policy dialogues, conferences and roundtables, as well as stronger links among academic and research institutions across D-8 countries.
Technology and industrial cooperation featured prominently during Mahmood's visit to OSTIM Technical University, where talks centered on artificial intelligence, research and innovation, technoparks, entrepreneurship, startups, small and medium-sized enterprises and industrial clusters.
The discussions also explored ways to strengthen links between universities and industry and help commercialize research across D-8 economies.
Mahmood said the OSTIM ecosystem could provide opportunities to connect universities, technoparks, researchers, entrepreneurs and businesses across member states.
At the Turkish Parliament, Mahmood met Burhan Kayatürk, a lawmaker from the eastern province of Van and chair of Parliament's EU Harmonization Committee.
The two discussed economic cooperation, connectivity and stronger people-to-people ties among D-8 countries, while Mahmood emphasized the potential role of lawmakers in raising awareness of the organization and its objectives.
Mahmood also attended a reception hosted by the Indonesian Embassy in Ankara marking the country's 81st Independence Day, where he met Indonesian Ambassador Achmad Rizal Purnama.
The D-8 said the Ankara meetings reflected its push for more action-oriented cooperation by bringing together governments, universities, industry, research institutions, think tanks and lawmakers.
The D-8 was established in 1997 in Istanbul to promote economic cooperation among developing countries, with Türkiye among its founding members.
