ISLAMABAD -  Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi will leave for Turkey today to attend the D-8 Summit being held tomorrow (October 20).

Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif is attending the 17th Council of Ministers meeting that will precede the summit, said a foreign ministry statement.

This is the ninth summit of eight developing countries that is Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.

Pakistan is the current chair of the D-8.

It assumed chair at the eighth Summit of D-8, held in Islamabad in November 2012.

Pakistan continued to hold the chair beyond the normal period of two years.

During Islamabad Summit in November 2012 two landmark documents were signed: the D-8 charter and global vision.

The prime minister will hand over the chairmanship of the D-8 Summit to Turkey.

The Istanbul Summit is expected to adopt a declaration and a plan of action, the statement said.

Major areas of cooperation in D-8 Charter are; industry, agriculture and food security, energy, trade, transportation and tourism.

The Istanbul Summit will inter-alia be an occasion to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the organization.

The prime minister is expected to interact with the leaders of D-8 member states on the sidelines of the summit.