Nigeria, D8 nations agree to increase trade by $500bn

The Chambers of Commerce and Industry of eight developing countries, otherwise known as D-8 have agreed to increase trade volume among member countries to the tune of $500 billion by the year 2023.

The countries are Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.

This pact was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the D-8 Chambers of Commerce and Industry meeting held at Izmir, Turkey in October 2016.

A copy of the communiqué made available to journalists yesterday in Kaduna by the President of Kaduna Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr. Abdul Alimi Bello, who was at the Izmir, Turkey, said they planned to enhance trade amongst the D-8 countries, where the countries have comparative advantage: Bangladesh in silk and mango; Turkey in culture fishing, leather and shoes sectors; Nigeria in construction, mining, agriculture and energy fields.

Other resolutions of the D-8 countries show they plan to provide five years’ visa for businessmen with multiple entries.

Member-countries of the developing nations also resolved to abolish all existing commercial and economic restrictions that obstruct economic co-operation between them, abolish custom duty tariffs between countries as well as facilitate and enhance banking operations within member-countries.

Other highlights of the communiqué include: signing the double taxation avoidance agreement, to cooperate in tourism between member-countries, provide scholarship by the Izmir University of Economics to one student from each chamber of commerce and industry that participated in the meeting, to develop know-how and technology transfers between the D-8 countries, to participate reciprocally in trade exhibitions in D-8 countries to increase commercial and economic interaction.

Bombs kill at least 12, wound dozens at Pakistan court

Two bombs killed at least 12 people and wounded dozens outside a court complex in northwest Pakistan on Friday, a rescue official said, hours after militants killed two people in a Christian neighbourhood in the same region.

Both attacks were claimed by Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, a breakaway Pakistani Taliban faction believed to be behind some of the past year's deadliest attacks, including last month's bombing of lawyers in the city of Quetta that killed 74 people.

The bodies of policemen, lawyers and other civilians were recovered, said Haris Habib, chief rescue officer in the city of Mardan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

"First there was a small blast followed by a big blast," Habib told Reuters.

The twin attacks in the northwest came one day after Pakistan's army touted the successes of its fight against myriad armed jihadist groups, though a spokesman acknowledged there was still a long way to go.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said Friday's latest bombing would "not shatter our unflinching resolve in our war against terrorism".

"These receding elements are showing frustration by attacking our soft targets. They shall not get space to hide in Pakistan," Sharif said in a statement.

Jamaat-ur-Ahrar's spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, vowed to stage more attacks in a statement sent to Reuters.

"We appeal to civilians to remain away from law enforcement installations and these un-Islamic courts. We will target them more," he said.

More than 20 people were killed in an attack in December on a government office in Mardan, which was also claimed by Jamaat-ur-Ahrar.

Earlier in the day, four gunmen wearing suicide-bomb vests attacked a Christian neighbourhood in the Khyber tribal region, killing at least one security guard and a civilian resident, military officials said.

Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, which has targeted Christians in the past, claimed responsibility within hours of the attack.

The Islamist group, which briefly declared allegiance to Middle East-based Islamic State in 2014 but recently said it was no longer affiliated with them, also staged the Easter Day attack on Christians in a park in Lahore that killed 72 people including at least 29 children.

The attackers exchanged fire with security forces and were killed, the military said.

The area is near Warsak Dam, 20 km (12 miles) northwest of Peshawar.

The official said the attackers might have been attempting to enter an adjacent security installation by exploiting weaker security arrangements in the residential area.

Christians, who number around 2 million in a nation of 190 million people, have been the target of a series of attacks in recent years.