BIMSTEC Summit commits to strengthen cooperation
Travelbiznews Service —————-
Kathmandu: The third Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit concluded in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar issuing the Nay Pyi Taw Declaration with focus to strengthen mutual cooperation on economic issues.
The BIMSTEC member countries have committed to strengthen cooperation in different economic sectors including tourism , trade and investment, energy, counter-terrorism , transnational crime transport , communication, technology, agriculture, environment and disaster management, poverty alleviation, climate change and cultural cooperation.
The summit ended on March 4 (2014) as Myanmar President Thein Sein handed over the Chairmanship of the BIMSTEC to Nepal’s Prime Minister Sushil Koirala. BIMSTEC uses the alphabetical order for the rotation of the Chairmanship.
The Summit focused on close relationship and cooperation among the BIMSTEC member States given the geographical proximity as well as the rich historical linkages and cultural heritage.The summit reiterated firm commitment to alleviate poverty in the BIMSTEC region to ensure dignity, improve the quality of life and well-being of the peoples.
It underlined the need to make joint efforts to minimize threats posed by climate change on the lives and livelihoods of peoples across the member states.
The BIMSTEC countries signed three significant deals including two Memorandum of Association (MoAs) and one Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish BIMSTEC’s Secretariat Office in Dhaka of Bangladesh, meteorology and hydrology department in Noida of India and Cultural Industries Observatory in Thimpu of Bhutan.
The one-day summit was attended by Presidents, Prime Ministers, foreign ministers and representatives from seven BIMSTEC countries including Myanmar. BIMSTEC groups Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan.
The seven nations welcomed the appointment of Sumith Nakandala of Sri Lanka as the first Secretary General of BIMSTEC.
The third BIMSTEC summit and its related meetings were held on March 1-4.The first and second BIMSTEC summits were held in Thailand in 2004 and in India in 2008.
BIST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand Economic Cooperation) was formed in Bangkok as a new sub-regional grouping on 6 June 1997. Myanmar attended the inaugural meeting as an observer and joined the organization as a full member at a Special Ministerial Meeting held in Bangkok on 22 December 1997, upon which the name of the grouping was changed to BIMSTEC.
Nepal was granted observer status by the second Ministerial Meeting in Dhaka in December 1998. Subsequently, full membership has been granted to Nepal and Bhutan in 2003.
The member countries agreed that the name of the grouping should be known as BIMSTEC or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation in the first Summit on 31 July 2004.
March 4, 2014
