Bangladesh calls for finalizing BIMSTEC FTA

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Dhaka, Dec 19 --Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin on Thursday reiterated Bangladesh's commitment to finalizing the six constituent agreements under the BIMSTEC Free Trade Area (FTA) framework agreement.

Emphasizing the importance of trade and investment in advancing the shared goal of BIMSTEC, particularly in enhancing the living standard of the people of the region, he called upon the Member States to expedite finalizing the necessary instruments for early implementation of the BIMSTEC FTA.

A five-member delegation, led by the Foreign Secretary, participated in the 24th Session of the BIMSTEC Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM).

It was chaired by Paisan Rupanichkij, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, in its capacity as the current Chair of BIMSTEC.

Secretary General of BIMSTEC Indra Mani Pandey, and members of the BIMSTEC Secretariat also attended the meeting.

Jashim sought support and cooperation of all Member States.

The Foreign Secretary updated the meeting on various development in the Trade and Investment Sector including the Blue Economy, for which Bangladesh is the Lead Country.

He expressed his deep appreciation to the Chair and the BIMSTEC Secretariat for their coordination role and leadership.

The Foreign Secretary called for renewed commitment from Member States to achieve BIMSTEC’s shared vision of regional prosperity.

The meeting deliberated on various issues, covering organizational, procedural, administrative and substantive matters.

The meeting also took stock of the progress made in BIMSTEC’s core areas of cooperation since the last SOM meeting and reviewed operational mechanisms and the decision-making framework for BIMSTEC; updates were provided on ongoing initiatives across various sectors, including trade, investment and development, connectivity, security, environment and climate change, science, technology, and innovation.

Delegates emphasized the need for collaborative action to address regional environmental challenges; discussions highlighted efforts to enhance regional connectivity for economic integration and people-to-people exchanges; and progress on institutional frameworks.

The meeting also considered the financial framework and administrative priorities for BIMSTEC.

The meeting agreed on the dates and venue for the next SOM and adopted the session’s report.

The Member States provided comprehensive updates on the progress made by them in forging regional cooperation in the sectors and sub-sectors they lead.

They also outlined their proposals for expanding regional cooperation within the BIMSTEC framework in future.

The 24th session of SOM approved the budget of the Secretariat for 2025 and took other key decisions pertaining to expanding cooperation in various sectors, underscoring the collective commitment of the Member States to advancement of regional cooperation under the BIMSTEC framework.

The session concluded with adoption of the Report of the 24th BIMSTEC Senior Officials Meeting, which will be submitted to the next BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting, comprising foreign ministers of the member States.

BIMSTEC comprises seven countries of the Bay of Bengal region: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

It pursues regional cooperation in seven broad sectors: Agriculture and Food Security; Connectivity; Environment and Climate Change; People to People Contact; Science, Technology and Innovation; Security; and Trade, Investment and Development. Regional cooperation within BIMSTEC also covers 8 sub-sectors: Blue Economy, Mountain Economy, Energy, Disaster Management, Fisheries and Livestock, Poverty Alleviation, Health and Human Resource Development. - UNB