Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is set to attend the next Bimstec Summit in Thailand as the date for the seven countries leaders' have been fixed on November 30.
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen confirmed the development at a briefing after his meeting with the Secretary (East) at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs Saurabh Kumar.
The foreign secretary said Saurabh's visit was focused on the Bimstec as India is serious to make the process successful.
Bangladesh, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Thailand are members of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation or Bimstec.
When questioned about the purpose of the Indian secretary's visit to Dhaka to discuss the Bimstec issue, despite New Delhi not being the host of the upcoming summit, the foreign secretary said India would be the next secretary-general of the Bimstec after the current secretary-general's tenure expires on November 5 and Bangladesh would be the next chair.
“We have our priorities. We are focused on trade and India is focused on security cooperation. Since next year we will be the chair and India will take up the post of the secretary general. So, we will work together to speed up the Bimstec activities,” he said.
Before the summit, Thailand is going to host a retreat for the foreign ministers on July 18.
“This is the first time such a retreat is taking place,” the foreign secretary said, adding that Thailand shared details of the retreat with Dhaka.
The Bimstec Charter was signed and adopted during the fifth Bimstec Summit held virtually in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on March 30, 2022.
Regarding Bangladesh's chairmanship in next year's Bimstec, the foreign secretary said Dhaka would focus on achieving concrete results of the Bimstec process.
“It's sufficient time to do something concrete in 25 years,” he said as Bimstec was established in 1997.
“We will try to achieve those results,” he said, giving a few examples such as forming the Bimstec eminent citizens forum and adding private sector and development partners in the Bimstec activities.
Meanwhile, the foreign ministry issued a statement on the meeting.
It said Foreign Secretary Momen noted that as a founding member of Bimstec, Bangladesh is committed to deepening relations with the member states of Bimstec in all aspects and moving forward in materializing the objectives of this regional organization.
He also noted that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is an ardent proponent of the Bimstec process, which is manifested in hosting the Bimstec Secretariat in Dhaka. He reiterated Bangladesh's commitment to strengthening the Bimstec Secretariat by all possible means, the statement said.
The Indian secretary thanked the foreign secretary of Bangladesh for receiving him and for the generous hospitality extended to the Indian delegation by the government of Bangladesh. He expressed India's willingness to work together with Bangladesh to make Bimstec a most effective and dynamic organization.
Both sides agreed to intensify their efforts in achieving tangible progress in the field of trade and investment, connectivity, energy security, and climate change for ensuring shared peace and prosperity in the Bay of Bengal region, the statement said, adding India and Bangladesh also discussed the ways and means of moving forward the Bimstec Process and make it a vibrant and successful organization.
After the meeting, the foreign secretary hosted a luncheon in honour of the Indian MEA's secretary (East). He will leave Dhaka Friday morning.