High Council Meeting

Member countries convene High Council Meetings (HCMs) in their respective territories, where government representatives gather to make decisions, devise solutions, and formulate policies that drive technological progress within their nations. These council events serve as a platform for member countries to present reports on their technological development endeavors, facilitating the sharing of experiences and recent advancements. Concurrently, technology companies from member countries partake in side events held alongside these council meetings.
During these gatherings, the highest-ranking officials of the D-8 TTEN collaborate to synchronize member countries’ activities, revise and enhance programs and initiatives, exchange perspectives, brainstorm ideas, outline each country’s capabilities and needs, and outline the network’s future trajectory while confirming decisions. Ultimately, new proposals are endorsed.
The council comprises esteemed representatives, including the Secretary General of the D-8 Organization, the Network Secretary (Director of the Park), Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the Egyptian Academy of Research and Technology, Indonesian National Research and Innovation Agency, Iran National Techmart, the Department of Commercialization and Technology Transfer of the Ministry of Science Malaysia, Nigerian National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion, the Engineering Development Board of Pakistan, and Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey. To date, eight HCMs have been held.

Latest HCM

The eighth HCM took place on October 2, 2023 alongside the 4th Business and Technology Meeting (BTM) and the 5th Mustafa Prize in Isfahan, I.R. Iran. Representatives from Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkey attended the meeting in person, while Malaysia and Indonesia participated online.
An update was provided on the Secretariat's activities since the adoption of the new Charter of the Network. This included the appointment of Dr. Sadrkhanlou as the President of D-8 TTEN, renaming member states' organizations as National Coordination Organizations (NaCOs), and changing contact persons to Appointed Representatives (ARs).
Dr. Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary, Coordinator-General of COMESTECH, attended the meeting as an honorary guest to present the D-8 Technology Festival Initiative. This initiative, jointly organized by COMESTECH and D-8 TTEN, aims to showcase domestically developed technologies in D-8 countries through exhibitions in Pakistan. Dr. Choudhary also proposed collaborating with D-8 TTEN in mapping the technology and innovation ecosystems of member countries.
The matter of hosting future events of D-8 TTEN was discussed, as it remained unresolved after the last HCM. Each member expressed their interest in hosting these events in the upcoming years.
The D-8 Co-Fund Initiative (D-8 CoFI), which was previously discussed in the 7th HCM, was reported during the meeting. It was mentioned that the invitation letters for the initiative sent to the member states prior to the meeting did not receive a response from the NaCOs. The members emphasized the need for timely receipt of the latest versions of the initiative's documents to allow for thorough review and discussion with financial bodies in their respective countries.
It was decided to distribute all documents of the D-8 Co-FI to the member states for review. The members were requested to provide their feedback and questions to the D-8 TTEN Secretariat within one month of receiving the documents. After this specified timeframe, the initiative will be considered “Approved”, and implementation will commence upon expression of interest by any member.