D-8 Webinar Explores Malaysia’s Experience to Boost Industrial Cooperation
ISLAMABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Aug, 2026) The Developing-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation (D-8) Secretariat, in collaboration with Malaysia’s Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI), recently convened the D-8 Webinar on Industrial Cooperation. The webinar's theme was "Leveraging Malaysia’s Industrial Experience for D-8 Cooperation."
Over 70 participants from across D-8 member states attended, including senior government officials, investment and export promotion agency representatives, SME bodies, chambers of commerce, and the private sector.
The strong and interactive participation reflected a shared interest in advancing practical industrial partnerships and learning from successful experiences within the Organization.
In his opening remarks, Ambassador Sohail Mahmood, Secretary-General of the D-8, highlighted Malaysia’s transformation into a diversified, manufacturing and export-oriented economy. He noted that its experience in industrial planning, investment, exports, technology, human-capital development, and private-sector engagement is relevant for wider D-8 cooperation.
He emphasized the immense economic potential of the nine D-8 member states, with a combined GDP exceeding US$5.19 trillion and merchandise exports around US$1.09 trillion. He stressed the need to better connect their markets, productive capacities, investment opportunities, technologies, and private sectors to achieve a US$500 billion intra-D-8 trade target by 2030.
Against the backdrop of shifting global supply chains, the green transition, and rapid technological transformation, he identified three priorities:
- (i) Technology, innovation, and industrial transformation
- (ii) Investment, trade, and value-chain integration with a central role for the private sector
- (iii) Youth, skills, and human-capital development.
Ambassador Mahmood proposed:
- Developing joint industrial and investment initiatives in priority sectors
- Strengthening cooperation in technology transfer, innovation, skills, and emerging technologies
- Building stronger links among D-8 industries, SMEs, research institutions, and the private sector to support regional value chains
- Utilizing existing and emerging D-8 mechanisms effectively, including:
- D-8 NPRI (National Policy on Research & Innovation) and D-8 TTEN (Technology Transfer and Innovation Network) for technology and innovation
- D-8 CCI (Business Links Center) for business connections
- The proposed D-8 Halal Economy Cooperation Platform
The webinar focused on four interconnected areas:
- Industrial transformation and Malaysia’s New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP 2030)
- Investment promotion and FDI attraction
- Export development and market access
- Halal industry development as a high-growth sector.