ATHENS The economic group of eight developing Muslim countries, known as the D-8, is scheduled to hold its annual summit on 25 February in Cairo. Comprising Egypt, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria, Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey, the D-8 was formed in 1997 following an initiative by the then Turkish prime minister Necmettin Erbakan to promote inter-Muslim economic and trade cooperation. The D-8 summit will be attended, for the first time, by the secretary general of the OIC and the chairman of the Islamic Bank for Development. This year's summit is expected to be attended by the heads of state of seven countries. Only Iran's Mohammad Khatami will not attend, sending Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi to represent him, Egyptian newspaper ***** Al-Ahram ***** Weekly reported. "While relations between the two countries (Iran and Egypt) are improving the current state of limited diplomatic representation does not allow for President Khatami to head the Iranian delegation to this summit," a Cairo-based Iranian diplomatic source told the weekly. (IRNA)