TEHRAN Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi will head to Cairo this week to attend a summit of developing Muslim countries, his ministry's spokesman, Hamid Reza Assefi, said.

"The foreign minister, who will be heading a delegation to the third D8 summit, will also participate in the fifth meeting of the council of ministers to be held before the summit," he said at the weekly press briefing.

Kharrazi, who will be addressing the summit, will share the Islamic Republic's ideas on the various subjects on the agenda which include ways of strengthening and upgrading the status of developing Muslim countries in the world economy, creating trade opportunities, D8 member countries' participation in the international decision-making process, the need for world peace and security as well as for promoting dialogue and cooperation in international relations.

The group, comprising Egypt, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria, Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey was formed in 1997 under the initiative of the then Turkish prime minister Necmettin Erbakan. Its general objective is to promote inter-Muslim economic and trade cooperation.

This year's summit is expected to be attended by heads of state of seven developing Muslim countries.

Kharrazi will represent President Mohammad Khatami and is expected to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak as well as Foreign Minster Amr Moussa.