By Shakir Husain
NEW DELHI, Jan 3 (Bernama) -- Pakistan’s former foreign secretary Sohail Mahmood has assumed office as secretary-general of the Developing-8 Organisation for Economic Cooperation (D-8).
He took over from Isiaka Abdulqadir Imam of Nigeria at the organisation's headquarters in Istanbul on Friday.
The new secretary-general and his predecessor stressed the D-8's vast potential and opportunities for enhanced cooperation and economic integration, the organisation said in a statement.
Its members are Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkiye.
Sohail held several key roles during his four-decade diplomatic career, including serving as Pakistan’s high commissioner in New Delhi from August 2017 to April 2019, and prior to that as ambassador to Turkiye.
He retired from the foreign service after serving as Pakistan's 30th foreign secretary from April 2019 to September 2022.
Prior to assuming his new D-8 role, Sohail headed the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad.
With a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of about US$5 trillion and more than 1.2 billion population, the D-8 seeks to promote greater economic cooperation among its member states.
-- BERNAMA
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