Ahmadinejad arrives in Nigeria for D-8 summit

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Nigeria on Wednesday for the Developing Eight (D-8) summit, a gathering of the world's largest Muslim countries. The D-8, with a total population of 930 million, includes Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey. 

Reuters

The Iranian president was met on arrival in Abuja by Nigerian Works Minister Sanusi Dagash, government officials and a small group of Iranians who live in the West African nation. Turkish President Abdullah Gul is also in Abuja for the summit.

Mohamed Al-Oraby, Egypt's deputy foreign minister in charge of economic affairs and international co-operation, is also attending Thursday's meeting.

He told RFI that delegates would discuss how to improve trade links, as well as visa arrangements for businesspeople travelling between the eight countries.

As Turkey and Indonesia are members of the G20, he said they would be asked to voice the concerns of developing countries at the next G20 meeting, which takes place in South Korea in November.