Developing Eight

Economic · D-8

Although the name fixes the number at eight, the Charter signed at Islamabad on 22 November 2012 opens accession to any developing country in the United Nations sharing common affinities with the founders. Azerbaijan's instrument of ratification reached the Istanbul secretariat on 19 March 2025, three months after the Cairo summit approved its application, and the roster now runs to 9.

Questions about D-8

Which countries are in the D-8?

Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Türkiye. All but Azerbaijan are founding states, named in the preamble of the Charter done at Islamabad on 22 November 2012. Azerbaijan acceded to that Charter and became a member on 19 March 2025, when its instrument of ratification reached the Secretariat in Istanbul, three months after the summit at Cairo approved the application on 19 December 2024.

Why is it called the D-8 when it has 9 members?

The number is in the founding name and the roster has moved past it. The Istanbul Declaration of 15 June 1997 established the Developing-8 with the states that attended, and the Charter of 22 November 2012 kept the form while retitling the body the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation. Article 3 of that Charter leaves accession open, and Azerbaijan used it in 2025. Neither the name nor the abbreviation was altered to match.

What does a country have to do to join the D-8?

Article 3 of the Charter sets the test: a developing country that is a member of the United Nations, shares common affinities and friendly relations with the founding members, and undertakes to abide by the objectives and principles written into the Charter. The application goes through the Secretary-General. The Council of Ministers recommends and the Summit approves by consensus, and the membership begins only once the applicant's instrument of ratification has been deposited with the Secretariat.

Is the D-8 preferential trade agreement in force?

It was signed on 13 May 2006 and entered into force on 25 August 2011, and the Secretariat's Decennial Roadmap records that it took effect on 1 July 2016. Ratification alone does not operate it. A member also lodges an offer list of the tariff lines it opens and a specimen of its customs stamp, and the status table the Secretariat publishes shows several of those still outstanding. Egypt has not ratified the agreement at all.

Is the D-8 the same thing as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation?

No. Every member record in this catalogue files both, and the two rest on different instruments with different tests. The OIC has a far wider membership. The D-8 Charter admits a developing United Nations member sharing common affinities and friendly relations with its founders and names no religion, while the Secretariat's history describes the Istanbul seminar of October 1996 as a proposal for cooperation among major Muslim developing countries.

Sources

Charter of the Developing-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation · D-8 Secretariat. Done at Islamabad on 22 November 2012 in one original copy in English: the founding states in the preamble, the overlap clause in Article 2, accession and observers in Articles 3 and 4, the organs in Articles 5 to 12, English in Article 15, quorum and consensus in Articles 17 and 18, withdrawal in Article 25, and ratification and entry into force in Article 27.
Status of Legal Documents · D-8 Secretariat. The signature date of each instrument, its entry into force, and the date each member's ratification, offer list and customs stamp specimen reached the Secretariat.
D-8 Decennial Roadmap for 2020-2030 · D-8 Secretariat. Intra-D-8 trade of US$15 billion in 1997 and about US$100 billion in 2015 at 6.6% of members' total trade, the 10% goal for 2030, the entry into force dates of the trade, customs and visa agreements, the effect date of 1 July 2016, the first roadmap of July 2008 at Kuala Lumpur, and the ninth summit of 20 October 2017.
Brief History of D-8 · D-8 Secretariat. The Istanbul seminar of October 1996 and the proposal made there, the states represented, the establishment of the organisation on 15 June 1997 by the Istanbul Declaration, and the Secretariat at Istanbul.
Purposes and Objectives · D-8 Secretariat. The six principles, from peace instead of conflict to democracy instead of oppression, and the statement that membership carries no adverse impact on the members' other commitments.
Organizational Structure · D-8 Secretariat. The Summit every two years, the Council of foreign ministers, the Commission of designated senior officials, and the Secretariat.
Azerbaijan submits Instruments of Ratification of D-8 Charter, thus marking its full Membership of the D-8 Organization · D-8 Secretariat, press release. The parliamentary act of 7 March 2025 and the submission of the instrument in Istanbul on 19 March 2025.
11th D-8 Summit convenes in Cairo, as Egypt assumes its Chairmanship · D-8 Secretariat, press release. The summit of 19 December 2024, its theme, the approval of Azerbaijan's application, the chair passing from Bangladesh to Egypt, and Egypt's undertaking to ratify the trade agreement.