President Prabowo to Egypt on December 17 to Attend D-8 Summit

Spokesperson for the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemlu) Rolliansyah Soemirat (right) delivered his statement at the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' press briefing in Jakarta, Monday (16/12/2024). (ANTARA/Nabil Ihsan)

JAKARTA - President Prabowo Subianto is scheduled to attend the 11th D-8 Developing Countries Summit in Egypt on December 17-19, 2024.

Indonesian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Rolliansyah Soemirat said that at the summit, Indonesia will be appointed to accept the D-8 chairmanship from the current chairman, Egypt, for the period 2026-2027. Indonesia's chairmanship of the D-8 organization will begin on January 1, 2026.

"This summit has important significance because in addition to being a regular meeting of the D-8 organization, there will be a handover of chairmanship from Egypt to Indonesia, which will become the chairman of the organization for the period 2026-2027," said Roy in a press briefing in Jakarta, Antara, Monday, December 16.

D-8 is an organization for development and economic cooperation that was established in 1997 and consists of key countries from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), namely Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkey.

Roy highlighted the increasing importance of cooperation under the D-8 framework amidst efforts by Global South countries to expand cooperation in the fields of economy and development and other fields.

"RI will utilize the presence of the President for Indonesia, the importance of D-8 being able to contribute positively to the desire of Global South countries to continue to increase cooperation," he said.

The role of D-8 is also increasingly important in joint efforts to strengthen world awareness of the situation in Palestine, especially in the Gaza Strip which is still being hit by Israeli aggression, he said.

Meanwhile, Roy said the theme of the D-8 Summit in Cairo, Egypt, entitled "Investing in Youth and Supporting Small Medium Enterprises, Shaping Tomorrow's Economy" showed the focus of the D-8 Summit on youth and MSME issues for the future economy.

"The theme also shows a common view with the priorities conveyed by the President regarding international cooperation in the economic sector," said Roy.