Leaders of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) on Wednesday signed the Bimstec Charter at the fifth Summit held in Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, placing the organization’s activities on a more structured and rule-based platform.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi joined the summit virtually, hosted by current Bimstec chair Sri Lanka, from Dhaka and New Delhi respectively with other Bimstec leaders from Bhutan, Nepal, Thailand and Myanmar.
Bimstec Convention on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters was signed by the ministers of Foreign Affairs, minister of Justice, or the nominated signatories of the Bimstec member states.
Memorandum of Association (MoA) on the Establishment of Bimstec Technology Transfer Facility (TTF) in Colombo was signed by ministers of Foreign Affairs or the nominated signatories of the Bimstec member states.
On the other hand, Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Mutual Cooperation between Diplomatic Academies/Training Institutions of Bimstec Member States was signed by the minister of Foreign Affairs or the nominated signatories of the Bimstec member states.
Later, a declaration of the fifth Bimstec Summit was adopted.
President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa formally opened the Summit by joining virtually in the morning.
He also delivered closing remarks as the outgoing chairman of Bimstec.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen attended the Summit in-person.
Thailand has taken over the chairmanship of Bimstec after the conclusion of the fifth Bimstec Summit.
