BSS, Dhaka :
Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali Tuesday said Bangladesh is ready to facilitate more meaningful cooperation under the 14 identified areas of cooperation in BIMSTEC.
“One of our prime objectives under BIMSTEC is to enhance trade and investment and we believe early realization of the BIMSTEC Free Trade Area (FTA) to promote trade and investment is of critical importance,” he said.
The minister said this while inaugurating a day-long seminar titled “Bangladesh and BIMSTEC: Way Forward” at the auditorium of Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) in the capital this morning as the chief guest.
Secretary General of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiatives for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Sumith Nakandala joined the discourse as a special guest with Chairman, Board of Governors of BIISS Ambassador Munshi Faiz Ahmad in the chair.
Among others, BIISS Director General Major General AKM Abdur Rahman gave address of welcome.
The foreign minister said Bangladesh attaches great importance to regional cooperation – a vision also reflected in the election manifesto of the present government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
He said regional cooperation for South Asia was envisaged immediately after the War of Liberation in 1971 by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to ensure peace, stability and enhancing people’s living standard in South Asia.
Mahmood Ali said Bangladesh has always played a constructive role in enhancing regional cooperation – within the relevant processes of BIMSTEC, SAARC and BCIM-EC.
Bangladesh’s firm commitment to the BIMSTEC process was further demonstrated when the Member States of BIMSTEC decided that the BIMSTEC Secretariat would be established in Dhaka, he added.
Describing BIMSTEC as a bridge between the two fastest growing regions of the world, he said Bangladesh is enjoying the geo-strategic advantage to be situated at the connecting point between South and Southeast Asia.
He said Bangladesh needs to translate its geo-strategic location into economic opportunities and tangible outcomes. “BIMSTEC, as a link between the two regions, can help us in achieving that goal,” he added.
The foreign minister told the seminar that Bangladesh will host the 6th BIMSTEC Trade and Economic Ministerial Meeting by mid-2015 and a Task Force Meeting on Energy in Dhaka in early February 2015 to sign four important instruments related to BIMSTEC FTA and to finalize the MoU on BIMSTEC Energy and Grid Interconnection.
He said another area of cooperation where we stand to gain tremendously is connectivity, which would facilitate trade, investment, tourism and people-to-people contacts among the Member States.
Under the aegis of BIMSTEC, he said Bangladesh is also cooperating on important areas like poverty alleviation, climate change, agriculture, health, technology, counter-terrorism and transnational crime, cultural cooperation and tourism.
He said the year 2015 could be a game changer in respect of BIMSTEC as an organization with the sincere and collective efforts of all member states.
Foreign Policy experts, diplomats, researchers and former bureaucrats also joined the seminar.
The seven members of BIMSTEC are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali Tuesday said Bangladesh is ready to facilitate more meaningful cooperation under the 14 identified areas of cooperation in BIMSTEC.
“One of our prime objectives under BIMSTEC is to enhance trade and investment and we believe early realization of the BIMSTEC Free Trade Area (FTA) to promote trade and investment is of critical importance,” he said.
The minister said this while inaugurating a day-long seminar titled “Bangladesh and BIMSTEC: Way Forward” at the auditorium of Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) in the capital this morning as the chief guest.
Secretary General of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiatives for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Sumith Nakandala joined the discourse as a special guest with Chairman, Board of Governors of BIISS Ambassador Munshi Faiz Ahmad in the chair.
Among others, BIISS Director General Major General AKM Abdur Rahman gave address of welcome.
The foreign minister said Bangladesh attaches great importance to regional cooperation – a vision also reflected in the election manifesto of the present government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
He said regional cooperation for South Asia was envisaged immediately after the War of Liberation in 1971 by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to ensure peace, stability and enhancing people’s living standard in South Asia.
Mahmood Ali said Bangladesh has always played a constructive role in enhancing regional cooperation – within the relevant processes of BIMSTEC, SAARC and BCIM-EC.
Bangladesh’s firm commitment to the BIMSTEC process was further demonstrated when the Member States of BIMSTEC decided that the BIMSTEC Secretariat would be established in Dhaka, he added.
Describing BIMSTEC as a bridge between the two fastest growing regions of the world, he said Bangladesh is enjoying the geo-strategic advantage to be situated at the connecting point between South and Southeast Asia.
He said Bangladesh needs to translate its geo-strategic location into economic opportunities and tangible outcomes. “BIMSTEC, as a link between the two regions, can help us in achieving that goal,” he added.
The foreign minister told the seminar that Bangladesh will host the 6th BIMSTEC Trade and Economic Ministerial Meeting by mid-2015 and a Task Force Meeting on Energy in Dhaka in early February 2015 to sign four important instruments related to BIMSTEC FTA and to finalize the MoU on BIMSTEC Energy and Grid Interconnection.
He said another area of cooperation where we stand to gain tremendously is connectivity, which would facilitate trade, investment, tourism and people-to-people contacts among the Member States.
Under the aegis of BIMSTEC, he said Bangladesh is also cooperating on important areas like poverty alleviation, climate change, agriculture, health, technology, counter-terrorism and transnational crime, cultural cooperation and tourism.
He said the year 2015 could be a game changer in respect of BIMSTEC as an organization with the sincere and collective efforts of all member states.
Foreign Policy experts, diplomats, researchers and former bureaucrats also joined the seminar.
The seven members of BIMSTEC are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
