Jakarta. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will attend the upcoming D-8 Summit in Jakarta, according to an envoy.

The D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation brings together Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkey. Azerbaijan had only joined as its ninth member last year. As this year D-8's chair, Jakarta will host the group's summit in April. Malaysia's Anwar — who just had a phone call with President Prabowo Subianto — is expected to attend.

“If God is willing, our prime minister will attend,” Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia Syed Mohammad Hasrin recently said in Jakarta, as reported by the state news agency Antara.

“Malaysia would be happy to support Indonesia as D-8’s chair.”

D-8 is home to 1.3 billion people and has a collective gross domestic product (GDP) size of $5.1 trillion. Trade among D-8 members totaled around $157 billion, according to the Indonesian government. Hasrin has previously stated that Malaysia sought to promote the D-8’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), including via its trade agreement. As chair, Indonesia seeks to promote the blue and halal economy, among others.

Earlier this week, Anwar revealed that he had just spoken to Prabowo via the phone to discuss “current issues that touch the interests of our countries for people’s welfare and regional stability”. The leaders also agreed to hold a meeting in the near future.

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