Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged the Bimstec members to fulfill their pledge to build this region as a secure, stable and prosperous one for ensuring dignity and peace for all of its peoples.
Hasina has made the call in an inaugural session of the third Bimstec (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Summit at Myanmar International Conference Centre here on Tuesday morning, reports BSS.
"I call upon the fraternal members of the Bimstec to extend all cooperation in fulfilling our pledge to becoming a secure, stable and prosperous region where all our peoples would enjoy a life of dignity, security and peace," she said.
The prime minister also stressed the need for working with collective strength and capabilities by the Bimstec members in utilizing combined natural endowments for beneficial economic integration and shared prosperity.
"The reality today is a globalized world where we need to work with collective strength and capabilities in utilizing our combined natural endowments for beneficial economic integration and shared prosperity," she added.
From Bimstec's initial six areas of cooperation in 1998, Sheikh Hasina said, it has expanded to fourteen, of which some are achieving notable progress, with others awaiting fresh impetus.
"The Bimstec needs to move forward with efforts based on mutual respect, trust, mutual and equitable sharing of benefits," she said.
Chairman of the third Bimstec summit, Myanmar President Thein Sein, delivered the welcome address, while Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Nepalese Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and Sihasak Phuangketkeow, permanent secretary and special envoy to Thai prime minister, spoke.
Founded in June 1997, the Bimstec groups include Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
After the opening ceremony, two memorandums of association (MOAs) and one memorandum of understanding (MOU) were signed in the presence of the heads of state and government from the Bimstec member states.
The instruments are: The MOA on Establishment of the Bimstec Permanent Secretariat in Dhaka, The MOA on the Establishment of a Bimstec Centre for Weather and Climate in India and The MOU on the Establishment of the Bimstec Cultural Industries Commission (BCIC) and Bimstec Cultural Industries Observatory (BCIO) in Bhutan.
