President Rajapaksa sees BIMSTEC leading to economic recovery in the region

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who chaired the 5th Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit, in Colombo, on Wednesday (30), said that enhanced cooperation between member states would be necessary not only for economic recovery, but also for greater economic prosperity, better public health, and improved regional resilience in the long term.

The President said that the theme of the Summit was, ‘BIMSTEC: Towards a Resilient Region, Prosperous Economies, Healthy Peoples,’ and hoped that those goals could be achieved through collective actions of the leaders of the region.

The Summit also adopted the BIMSTEC Charter on Wednesday. President Rajapaksa said that the signing of the BIMSTEC Charter was a significant step towards increasing the organization’s role, not just within the region, but also as a driving force from Asia in global affairs.

The President also highlighted the importance of trade and investments within the BIMSTEC region given its strategic location at the centre of the Indian Ocean and also highlighted that the resources in the Bay of Bengal should be preserved and managed equally.

The President also called for collective mechanisms to prevent unregulated, unreported and illegal fishing practices as well as overfishing, which threatened livelihoods in coastal communities.

The Summit was attended virtually by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bhutan Dr. Lotay Tshering, the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of Nepal Bahadur Deuba and the Prime Minister of Thailand General Prayut Chan-o-cha (Rtd.). The Foreign Minister of Myanmar Wunna Maung Lwin representing the government of Myanmar also joined the Summit virtually.

All the seven leaders emphasized the need to accelerate BIMSTEC’s agenda on trade and investment and the need to ensure that private sector and start-ups of the BIMSTEC countries work closer.

Adopting the BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport Connectivity, the leaders reiterated the implementation of projects on maritime, transport cooperation and road connectivity.

The leaders also witnessed the signing ceremony of three legal instruments during the BIMSTEC Summit.

Representing Sri Lanka, Minister of Justice Ali Sabry signed the BIMSTEC Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal Matter, while the Memorandum of Understanding on Mutual Cooperation between Diplomatic Academies/Training Institutions of BIMSTEC Member States was signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris.

A Memorandum of Association on the Establishment of Technology Transfer Facility in Colombo was signed by Secretary to the State Ministry of Skills Development, Vocational Education, Research and Innovation Deepa Liyanage.

Concluding the Summit, President Rajapaksa handed over the Chairmanship to the Prime Minister of Thailand, the next Chair of BIMSTEC