The D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation took a further step toward deepening intra-group trade
integration at the 9th Session of the Supervisory Committee (SC) of the Preferential Trade Agreement
(PTA), held on 30 March 2026 in Abuja, Federal Republic of Nigeria, in a hybrid format. The Session
was chaired by H.E. 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 SecretaryGeneral of the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, H.E. 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.
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