New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, on Thursday, participated in the 17th BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Ministerial Meeting. The meeting, chaired by Sri Lanka, was held virtually with the participation of all BIMSTEC Member States.
In his statement at the meeting, Dr Jaishankar reiterated India’s commitment to further building the momentum of regional cooperation under the BIMSTEC framework and make the organization stronger, vibrant, more effective and result-oriented, the Ministry of External Affairs said.
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He highlighted the progress achieved in sectors where India is the lead country viz Counter-Terrorism & Trans-National Crime, Transport & Communication, Tourism, and Environmental & Disaster Management and other activities undertaken by India to deepen BIMSTEC cooperation.
The meeting endorsed the BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport Connectivity for adoption at the next BIMSTEC Summit and three MoUs / Agreements for signing at the next BIMSTEC Summit, namely the BIMSTEC Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, MoU on Mutual Cooperation between Diplomatic Academies/Training Institutions of BIMSTEC Member States; and Memorandum of Association on the Establishment of BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility (TTF) in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
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They encouraged member states to complete their internal procedures for adoption of the BIMSTEC charter and endorsed the rationalization of sectors and sub-sectors of cooperation under the BIMSTEC framework which will be adopted at the next BIMSTEC Summit. A proposal of the Chair to hold the Fifth BIMSTEC Summit in Sri Lanka in the next few months in consultation with the Member States was also welcomed, the MEA added.
The meeting took note that the BIMSTEC Centre for Weather and Climate, being hosted in India, is fully functional with the state of the art facilities to provide Disaster Early Warnings.
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The Ministers appreciated the implementation of several initiatives announced by the Prime Minister of India in the previous BIMSTEC Summit, which included the BIMSTEC Startup Conclave held virtually in January 2021; Second BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise held at Puri in February 2020; Conference on Combating Drug Trafficking for BIMSTEC countries held in February 2020; the BIMSTEC Seminar on Climate Smart Farming Systems held at New Delhi in December 2019; A Capacity Building Workshop on Risk-Informed Urban Planning held at Gujarat Institute for Disaster Management, Gandhinagar in December 2019; the BIMSTEC Military Exercise and Army Chief’s Conclave 2018 held at Pune in Sept 2018; BIMSTEC Ministerial Conclave at the India Mobile Congress 2018 held at New Delhi in October 2018; Training of Diplomats from BIMSTEC countries at the Sushma Swaraj Institute for Foreign Service, New Delhi in February 2020; training of 24 researchers/professionals from BIMSTEC countries in space and remote sensing at the North East Space Application Centre, Shillong in January 2020; and providing 30 scholarships to students from BIMSTEC countries in Nalanda University.
