Sohail Mahmood, secretary-general of the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, restated the D-8 trade target of $500 billion by 2030 in Doha, Dawn reported on October 28. Trade among the bloc’s members stood at $157 billion in 2024, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), so the goal requires trade to grow about 3.2 times, or more than triple.
The goal is not new. APP reported the same figures from the 2nd D-8 Business Forum in Indonesia on October 15, where Mahmood gave the keynote, and Antara reported the $500 billion aim in July, in its coverage of the D-8 Halal Expo in Jakarta.
In Doha, on the sidelines of the World Investment Forum 2026, he met Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan and stressed implementing the D-8 Preferential Trade Agreement following Egypt’s ratification, Dawn reported. For exporters, chambers of commerce, and trade ministries in the nine member states, the gap shows up in more than one measure.
Intra-D-8 trade accounts for only 6-7% of members’ total trade, against a goal of at least 10%, Daily Sabah reported on October 27 from an interview with Mahmood. The Preferential Trade Agreement is the bloc’s trade pact, which all its original signatories have now ratified, according to APP.
Antara gives one measure of the pact’s reach. Indonesian exporters have used the pact for shipments worth about $36.4 million since it entered into force in June 2024, by Antara’s dating, the agency reported in July. The unresolved question is whether members turn the pact into routine commercial use before 2030, and the next D-8 meetings APP lists are scheduled for 2027.
Intra-D-8 Trade Remains Small Next to the Bloc’s Economic Weight
Intra-D-8 trade remains disproportionately small relative to the members’ combined economic potential, despite substantial increases since 1997, Daily Sabah reported from its interview with Mahmood. The bloc was founded in Istanbul that year. Its nine members are Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Turkiye, and Azerbaijan, according to Daily Sabah. Azerbaijan joined on March 19, 2025, Antara reported.
The size of that economic weight varies by source. According to APP, the members’ combined GDP exceeds $5 trillion, while Daily Sabah reported $5.2 trillion and Antara around $5.1 trillion. APP and Daily Sabah both reported the members’ combined population at about 1.3 billion people.
The outlets also differ on the current trade figure. While APP reports intra-D-8 trade of $157 billion in 2024, Daily Sabah puts it at approximately $170 billion now. On simple arithmetic, growing from APP’s 2024 figure to $500 billion by 2030 implies average growth of about 21% a year, while Daily Sabah’s figure would still need to nearly triple.
Mahmood framed the push in terms of influence as well as trade. “The more the capacities of member states grow, the more they align themselves economically and integrate deeply, I think their capacity to influence global outcomes will be much greater,” he told Daily Sabah.
D-8 Preferential Trade Agreement Is Ratified, but Sources Differ on Its Start
The D-8 Preferential Trade Agreement is now ratified by all its original signatories, APP reported. Mahmood welcomed that step as a significant milestone at the October 15 forum. Dawn’s account of the Doha meeting refers to the pact’s implementation following Egypt’s ratification.
The reports do not agree on when the agreement took effect. While Daily Sabah reports that the Preferential Trade Agreement entered into force in 2011, Antara indicates that it entered into force in June 2024. The reports reviewed for this article do not reconcile the two dates.
The only usage figure in those reports comes from Indonesia, and Antara’s $36.4 million covers only shipments by Indonesian food exporters under the pact. The reports reviewed for this article give no bloc-wide usage figure.
Mahmood Ties the $500 Billion Goal to Customs, Visas, and Private Firms
Mahmood said reaching the target requires more effective implementation of the trade-facilitating arrangements the bloc already has, according to Daily Sabah. He also named closer engagement with the private sector, easier movement of goods and businesspeople, customs coordination, and visa facilitation.
Mahmood made a similar case to businesses in October. In a virtual keynote at the Business Forum, he called for stronger trade and investment partnerships and for turning the grouping’s economic potential into tangible business opportunities, APP reported. The forum ran alongside the 41st Trade Expo Indonesia and was organized by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN).
Mahmood and Khan both stressed translating cooperation frameworks into commercial opportunities, Dawn reported. At the Doha meeting, Pakistan highlighted investment potential in special economic zones, particularly Karachi’s industrial area. The talks focused on export-oriented manufacturing and industrial partnerships, according to Dawn, which also reported that Mahmood noted Pakistan’s continued support.
Indonesia Hosts the Next D-8 Trade Ministers Meeting in 2027
Indonesia, the D-8 chair for 2026-2027, hosted the bloc’s July Halal Expo and October Business Forum, Antara and APP reported. Indonesia previously chaired the bloc in 2006-2008, Antara reported. Jakarta held the first D-8 Halal Expo from July 8 to 12 at the Jakarta Convention Center, covering food and beverages, cosmetics, fashion, pharmaceuticals, tourism, finance, and digital services, Antara reported.
Deputy Foreign Minister Anis Matta pointed to strengthening Indonesia’s economic integration with the Islamic world, Antara reported. Mahmood called the expo a catalyst for stronger private-sector collaboration, and Sholahudin Al Aiyub, executive director of Indonesia’s KNEKS agency, stressed matchmaking between exporters and importers, Antara reported.
The October forum drew senior Indonesian officials, among them Johni Martha, Indonesia’s director general for international trade negotiations, and Zelda Wulan Kartika, special adviser to the foreign minister on economic diplomacy, APP reported. Andi Anzhar Cakra Wijaya, KADIN’s deputy chairman for multilateral diplomacy, also attended.
The next checkpoints are on the calendar. The Fifth D-8 Trade Ministers Council meeting will take place in Indonesia in 2027, the 12th D-8 Summit is due in early 2027, and a D-8 Business Summit is planned for the same year, according to APP. Those meetings give members scheduled points to show progress from the $157 billion APP reported for 2024 toward the $500 billion Mahmood restated in Doha.
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