Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday called upon fellow leaders to strive to transform the Bay of Bengal into a bridge of connectivity, prosperity and security among the BIMSTEC-member countries.
In his intervention, the Indian Prime Minister underscored the importance of enhanced BIMSTEC regional connectivity, cooperation and security, and made several suggestions in this regard.
Read: BIMSTEC leaders pledge to intensify regional cooperation to offset economic losses
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her Indian counterpart Modi along with other leaders also witnessed the signing of three BIMSTEC agreements which represent progress being achieved in ongoing cooperation activities.
These are BIMSTEC Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters; BIMSTEC Memorandum of Understanding on Mutual Cooperation in the field of Diplomatic Training and Memorandum of Association on Establishment of BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility.
The main outcome of the Summit was the adoption and signing of the BIMSTEC Charter, which formalizes the grouping into an organization made up of member states that are littoral to, and dependent upon, the Bay of Bengal.
Prime Minister Modi virtually participated in the 5th BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Summit hosted by Sri Lanka.
Prior to the 5th BIMSTEC Summit, preparatory meetings at the Senior Official and Foreign Minister levels were held in Colombo on March 28 and 29 in the hybrid mode.
Read: BIMSTEC Charter signed in Colombo to push forward cooperation
The Summit’s theme “Towards a Resilient Region, Prosperous Economies, Healthy People” captured the main current priorities of member states, and the efforts by BIMSTEC to develop cooperation activities that support member state’s programmes to deal with the economic and development consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Summit also saw considerable progress being achieved in the BIMSTEC connectivity agenda with the adoption of the ‘Master Plan for Transport Connectivity’ by Leaders which lays out a guidance framework for connectivity related activities in the region in the future.