Abdullah said member nations needed to modernise their agriculture sectors, but were blessed with "plenty of land, and good and fertile land." "With food and oil prices going high, the only alternative is agriculture and we agreed to diversify our economies and divert to agriculture," Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told a joint press conference. The D8 comprises Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey and is meeting as the Group of Eight (G8) industrial powers holds a high-profile annual summit in Japan.
Abdullah said the inflation crisis had erupted as a global recession looms, and that people in developing countries would be worst-hit. "The price of oil has skyrocketed to levels never anticipated... the price of food has increased beyond the normal abilities to pay by the poor, which form the majority of the world's people," he said. "There is also the danger of the food crisis creating political unrest in many societies."
Abdullah called on the international community to address the spiralling cost of crude, and urged the G8 leaders not to ignore the plight of those less well-off. "The most important thing that we would like to see is whether decisions made there not only affect rich countries but also poor countries affected by the oil hikes," he said.
"I don't think it is an exaggeration if I say that the whole world is waiting to hear what this conference has decided." Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attacked Western nations over the spiralling cost of oil which he said had been engineered "for the benefit of the rich of the world".
"This situation of oil crisis is an artificial situation. Today we see production is more than the consumption of the market and we see the market is full of crude oil," he said. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the challenge of food and energy security required urgent attention.
"There is no quick-fix that will sweep aside this challenge. But we must act on it at once and in concert. To delay concerted action on this great challenge of our time is to court disaster," he warned. Yudhoyono also said D8 countries should ensure food self-sufficiency to address the problem of food security.
Abdullah, the new D8 chairman, said global food prices were estimated to have risen by more than 75 percent since 2000 and urged the grouping to modernise their agriculture sectors.
He also urged major oil producers to adopt Saudi Arabia's move to increase output amid calls for greater production after the cost of crude roughly doubled over the past year. But he warned against giving agricultural land over to the production of biofuels, saying that would worsen the global food shortage and drive up prices.
"We must not allow the zeal for energy security to come into direct conflict with the basic need for food production," he said. Malaysia last month slashed its fuel subsidies, sending pump prices up 41 percent in a decision that sparked public anger and reinforced calls for Abdullah to step down.
APP adds: Prime Minister, Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday called for the promotion of intra-trade and increased economic co-operation among the eight developing Muslim nations.
"It is in trade and not in aid that the future of D-8 lies," Gilani said in his address to the 6th D-8 Summit which was opened by Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi here on Tuesday morning. Gilani expressed Pakistan's commitment to ensuring success of D-8 summit. The D-8 comprises Pakistan, Malaysia, Iran, Turkey, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Egypt and Nigeria.
Indonesian President, Dr Susilo Bambang handed over the group's presidency to host Malaysia for two years at the opening session of the Summit, which is being attended by five head of governments and states of the member countries including Pakistan, Malaysia, Iran, Indonesia and Bangladesh, with Turkey, Egypt and Nigeria being represented by their ministers.
Prime Minister said that D-8 could become a model of progress, development, co-operation and partnership. This organisation has a great potential with more than 930 million people and vast natural resources, he added.
He said Pakistan's trade with D-8 countries accounts for 8.14 percent of its overall trade, which is the highest as compared to the trade of D-8 states with members of the organisation. Gilani said Pakistan would like the D-8 to rapidly grow and become a vibrant and effective organisation. He said there was a need to provide requisite human and financial resources to the D-8 Secretariat for achieving success to realise its objectives.