The D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, Developing-8, aims to boost the trade volume between its member states to $500 billion by 2018, the group's secretary-general, Seyed Ali Mohammad Mousavi, said yesterday. Speaking in an exclusive interview, Mousavi said that boosting bilateral trade ties between members is one of most important objectives for the Developing-8. "Maximizing bilateral trade volume with the help of economic cooperation between states is very important. As bilateral trade volume increases, the welfare and wealth of your people and standards of living improve. Bilateral trade paves the way for developments in technology, agriculture and industry beside economic growth," Mousavi said. "As the Developing-8, we have set ourselves a goal of $500 billion in trade volume [between member states] by 2018. Two months later trade ministers will meet in Turkey and evaluate the success of progress in fulfilling this goal." Stressing that the D-8 takes Turkey as an example of success in development efforts, Mousavi said that the country has developed substantially compared to 30 years ago. "In this sense there is the example of Turkey in front of us. The difference in Turkey's social, political and economic situation with 30 years ago is apparent. With its growing economy, Turkey pretty much solved its social problems as well as achieving stability within its borders," Mousavi said. The D-8 is an organization that aims to develop cooperation among Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkey and improve member states' visibility and status in the global economy.