TEHRAN— Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has emphasized that the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation (D-8) has great potential to expand trade and transit commodities, which have been overlooked.

Raisi made the remarks in a meeting on Monday with D-8 Secretary-General Isiaka Abdulqadir Imam, who is visiting Tehran.

Raisi went on to say that Iran is ready to share its technological knowhow with D-8 member states, citing Iran’s scientific progresses by knowledge-based companies.

Recognizing the importance of increasing trade exchanges among D-8 countries, President Raisi emphasized that members should strive to increase trade exchanges among themselves while exercising their capacities.

The president went on to say that the U.S. does not want developing countries to grow and likes to see them dependent in order to keep its dominance in any way possible.

Iran, according to Abdulqadir Imam, is an active member of the organization, with two prominent D-8 institutes located in Tehran and Hamedan.

D-8 includes Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkey.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Mehdi Safari also held talks with the D-8 chief on Monday. At the meeting, Safari said multilateral economic organizations like D-8 are important for the Islamic Republic’s economic diplomacy. Safari also declared Iran’s readiness to achieve the common goals of the group.