Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen joined the first-ever “Bimstec foreign ministers' retreat” held in Bangkok, Thailand on Monday.
The seven foreign ministers had an “open and forward looking” discussion in which they explored new facets and activities to enter new areas of cooperation, India's external affairs minister S Jaishankar tweeted.
Bimstec or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation is a regional multilateral organization of seven countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand - that connects South and Southeast Asia. It also connects the ecologies of the Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal. Dhaka hosts the secretariat.
The retreat would discuss ways to further deepen the Bimstec agenda and strengthen the organization ahead of the summit on November 30 which will also be held in Thailand, the foreign ministry, earlier, said.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would attend the Summit.
India would be the next secretary-general of the Bimstec after the current secretary-general Tenzin Lekphell's tenure expires on November 5. Bangladesh would be the next chair.
“Focused on strengthening resilience and coordination among BIMSTEC members, reflecting the challenges that we all confront today. Explored new facets and activities to enter new areas of cooperation. Food, health and energy security are common concerns. Technology solutions can be subject for both collaboration and exchange of best practices. Our common objective is to enhance growth and promote prosperity,” Jaishankar tweeted.
“Agreed to meet more frequently to take these ideas further,” he said.
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen recently said Dhaka would focus on achieving concrete results of the Bimstec process during its chairmanship.
“It's sufficient time to do something concrete in 25 years,” he had said as Bimstec was established in 1997.
The Bimstec Charter was signed and adopted during the fifth Bimstec Summit held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on March 30, 2022 on the virtual platform due to pandemic.
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, the foreign secretary had said.
India's external affairs ministry's Secretary (East) Saurabh Kumar on July 6 visited Dhaka and discussed the Bimstec issues with the foreign secretary.
During the meeting, 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.
They also discussed the ways and means of moving forward the Bimstec Process and making it a vibrant and successful organization.
Trade is the focus area of Bangladesh.