Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain on Thursday stressed tangible and result-oriented cooperation among Bimstec member states, especially through effective implementation of the Bimstec Free Trade Area, for enhancing intra-regional trade.
Touhid spoke while leading the Bangladesh delegation at the 20th Bimstec Ministerial Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, said a foreign ministry press release.
The foreign ministers of all seven Bimstec member countries participated in the meeting one day ahead of the sixth Bimstec Summit.
Earlier in the morning, the foreign ministers signed the Agreement on Bimstec Maritime Transport Cooperation, marking a significant step towards enhancing regional connectivity.
Touhid, in his statement, highlighted Bangladesh's commitment to ensuring collective peace, progress and prosperity through a shared Bimstec vision.
He raised the issue of 1.2 million Rohingyas sheltered in Bangladesh and emphasized creating a conducive atmosphere in Myanmar for the return of the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals to their land with rights and security.
At the meeting, the Bimstec foreign ministers also finalized the draft provisional agenda for the sixth Bimstec Summit and the draft of the Summit Declaration, which will be considered at the upcoming summit, scheduled to be held on Friday.
The Bimstec foreign ministers agreed to hold the 21st Bimstec ministerial meeting in Dhaka.
The meeting concluded with the adoption of the report of the 20th Bimstec ministerial meeting.
Chief Advisor Dr Muhammad Yunus is scheduled to attend the Bimstec Summit of heads of state or governments in Bangkok on Friday.
