BIMSTEC
5th BIMSTEC Summit begins in Colombo: Leaders set to sign BIMSTEC Charter
Leaders of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) are set to sign the BIMSTEC Charter at the 5th Summit that began in Sri Lankan capital city on Wednesday morning.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi are joining the Summit, hosted by current BIMSTEC chair Sri Lanka in virtual mode, from Dhaka and New Delhi respectively.
BIMSTEC Convention on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters will be signed by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Justice or the nominated signatories of the BIMSTEC Member States.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen is leading a Bangladesh delegation at the Summit in person.
Read: Bangladesh seeks Thailand’s support to get connected with Trilateral Highway project
Momen said Bangladesh is committed to the security and stability of the region within the framework of BIMSTEC Convention on Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime and annual Consultation Mechanism of BIMSTEC National Security Advisors Forum.
"I am happy to note that our leaders will be approving and watching the signing of the BIMSTEC Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters at the 5th BIMSTEC Summit," he said.
The foreign minister said senior officials’ meeting held on Monday recommended some important documents for consideration and onward recommendation to the Summit.
"BIMSTEC Charter is one of them which will place the organization’s activities on a more structured and rule based platform," Momen said.
BIMSTEC Summit: Leaders set to sign BIMSTEC Charter Wednesday
Leaders of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) are set to sign the BIMSTEC Charter at the 5th Summit to be held in Sri Lankan capital city on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi will be joining the Summit, hosted by current BIMSTEC chair Sri Lanka in virtual mode, from Dhaka and New Delhi respectively.
BIMSTEC Convention on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters will be signed by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Justice or the nominated signatories of the BIMSTEC Member States.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen is leading a Bangladesh delegation at the Summit in person.
Momen said Bangladesh is committed to the security and stability of the region within the framework of BIMSTEC Convention on Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime and annual Consultation Mechanism of BIMSTEC National Security Advisors Forum.
"I am happy to note that our leaders will be approving and watching the signing of the BIMSTEC Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters at the 5th BIMSTEC Summit tomorrow (Wednesday)," he said.
READ: BIMSTEC: Jaishankar exchanges pleasantries with Momen
The foreign minister said senior officials’ meeting held on Monday recommended some important documents for consideration and onward recommendation to the Summit.
"BIMSTEC Charter is one of them which will place the organization’s activities on a more structured and rule based platform," Momen said.
Memorandum of Association (MoA) on the Establishment of BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility (TTF) in Colombo, Sri Lanka will be 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 will be signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs or the nominated signatories of the BIMSTEC Member States.
Later, a declaration of the 5th BIMSTEC Summit will be adopted.
President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa will deliver opening and closing remarks as the Chairman of BIMSTEC.
The Covid pandemic related challenges, and the uncertainties within the international system that all BIMSTEC members are facing, imparts greater urgency to the goal of taking BIMSTEC technical and economic cooperation to the next level, according to the Indian External Affairs Ministry.
This is expected to be the main subject of deliberations by the leaders at the Summit, it said.
The leaders are also expected to discuss the establishment of basic institutional structures and mechanisms of the group.
BIMSTEC: Jaishankar exchanges pleasantries with Momen
Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has described the 18th BIMSTEC ministerial meeting “productive and congenial.”
He thanked his Sri Lankan counterpart and chairperson of the ministerial meeting Prof G.L Peiris for the “excellent arrangements.”
Dr Jaishankar also exchanged pleasantries with his Bangladesh counterpart Dr AK Abdul Momen and the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister at the venue.
“Concluded a productive and congenial BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting. Thank you FM Prof G. L. Peiris for the excellent arrangements,” he tweeted sharing few photos. Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar led the Indian delegation at the meeting.
Dr Jaishankar invited his Bangladesh counterpart Dr Momen to visit India at an early date.
"Nice to catch up with FM A.K.Abdul Momen of Bangladesh," he tweeted.
Dhaka calls for joint efforts to build smarter BIMSTEC
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Tuesday called for renewing joint efforts at building a "more effective and smarter" BIMSTEC as a result-oriented regional organization.
"The 5th BIMSTEC Summit would revitalize the BIMSTEC process with a stronger political commitment and substantive directives and guidanceof our leaders to chart the future trajectory of the BIMSTEC towards a higher level," he said.
Foreign Minister Momen, who led the Bangladesh delegation, was speaking at the eighteenth ministerial meeting of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) in the Sri Lankan capital city on eve of the 5th BIMSTEC Summit scheduled for March 30.
Secretary (East) Mashfee Binte Shams, Additional Foreign Secretary (SAARC and BIMSTEC) Md. Shamsul Haque, Rector, Foreign Service Academy Asad Alam Siam, High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Sri Lanka Tareq Md Ariful Islam, Director (SAARC and BIMSTEC) Md. Aminul Islam Khan, Director (FMO) Md. Emdadul Islam Chowdhury, among others, joined as Bangladesh delegation members.
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Sri Lanka Foreign Minister and Chairperson of the 18th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting delivered opening remarks highlighting enormous potential that BIMSTEC holds in vast areas and laid emphasis on stronger cooperation for the benefit of whole region.
BIMSTEC: FM Momen in Colombo to attend 18th ministerial meeting Tuesday
The eighteenth ministerial meeting of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) opens in the Sri Lankan capital on Tuesday as the members explore ways to strengthen the forum on all fronts.
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen arrived here on Monday afternoon to lead the Bangladesh delegation at the ministerial meeting ahead of the 5th BIMSTEC Summit to be held on March 30.
Sri Lanka is hosting the Summit in hybrid mode with the theme “BIMSTEC-Towards a Resilient Region, Prosperous Economies and Healthy Peoples.”
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will formally inaugurate the Summit in which Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will join virtually from Dhaka.
BIMSTEC consists of seven member states – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Earlier, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen led the Bangladesh delegation at the 22nd BIMSTEC Senior Officials' Meeting' held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo on Monday.
Secretary (East) Mashfee Binte Shams, Additional Secretary (SAARC & BIMSTEC) Md. Shamsul Haque and Bangladesh High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Tareq Md Ariful Islam, among others, joined the meeting.
All parties need to join political process to make democracy work: FM
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Wednesday said all political parties need to come to a political process to make democracy participatory.
“Other than this (elections), no alternative is known to me,” he said while responding to a question at a media briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which was arranged ahead of the 5th BIMSTEC Summit.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, Secretary (East) Mashfee Binte Shams and Additional Secretary (SAARC & BIMSTEC) Md. Shamsul Haque were present.
Momen said Bangladesh is big promoter of democracy and anybody can cast his or her vote freely in polls and claimed that vote rigging has come down significantly with the introduction of voters’ ID with photographs.
Momen, an MP from Sylhet, said democracy has been functioning smoothly in Bangladesh for the last 13 years.
"Now, under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, we have democratic environment. We have voter ID with photos. Our people are mentally very democratic. They want to participate and around 70-80 percent of people vote in our elections,” Momen said.
He said they believe in fairness and justice and don’t believe in any kind of discrimination “We are free of discrimination.”
Terming Bangladesh’s relations with the US very cordial, Momen said there is potential to deepen relations with the US much more in the coming days. “The relations will deepen because we have shared values of democracy.”
He said during the visit of US Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland on March 20, Bangladesh demanded withdrawal of the sanctions on elite force Rab and individuals and shared the remedial measures that Bangladesh has taken to improve their performance.
READ: FM not going to Pakistan; FS to represent Bangladesh in OIC CFM
"There were no deaths in the last three months. They (the US) are very happy. We said we are taking remedial measures. In fact, we have inbuilt measures. We have a judicial process. Sometimes it did not work right,” Momen said.
Momen is scheduled to meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington on April 4 marking the 50 years of diplomatic relationship between the two countries.
BIMSTEC Summit: Six documents including its Charter to be adopted, signed
Six documents including BIMSTEC Charter are likely to be adopted and signed at the 5th BIMSTEC Summit to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka on March 30, says Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Wednesday.
Five other documents are BIMSTEC convention on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters; memorandum of association on the establishment of BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility (TTF) in Colombo; memorandum of understanding (MoU) on mutual cooperation between diplomatic academies/training institutions of BIMSTEC Member States; rationalization and reorganization of sectors and sub-sectors of BIMSTEC and BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport Connectivity.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and other heads of government will join the Summit virtually while ministers-level and foreign secretaries-level delegations will join in person, Momen said while briefing the media at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, Secretary (East) Mashfee Binte Shams and Additional Secretary (SAARC & BIMSTEC) Md. Shamsul Haque were present.
READ: PM to attend BIMSTEC Summit virtually: FM
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will formally inaugurate the Summit. Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) consists of seven member states – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
The theme of the 5th BIMSTEC Summit is “BIMSTEC-Towards a Resilient Region, Prosperous Economies and Healthy Peoples.”
Asked whether Rohingya issue will be discussed in the BIMSTEC Summit, the foreign minister said Bangladesh raises the issue in all the forums.
Responding to a question, he said Bangladesh is now a hub of connectivity as it believes that connectivity is productivity. “That’s why we’ve given lot of emphasis on connectivity.”
Momen highlighted the importance of connectivity with the countries like India, Myanmar, Bhutan and Sri Lanka.
State Minister Shahriar said the rail connectivity through Cox's Bazar-Ghumdhum is also part of BIMSTEC connectivity initiative.
He also mentioned about maritime connectivity between Chattogram port of Bangladesh and Ranong port of Thailand.
Foreign Minister Momen said a “Summit Declaration” will be issued after the BIMSTEC Summit and Sri Lanka will hand over the chairmanship of BIMSTEC to Thailand.
Before the key Summit, FM-level meeting will be held on March 29 while FS-level meeting on March 28. Bangladesh will join the meetings in person.
The 5th BIMSTEC Summit will be an opportunity to review and reflect what had worked and what did not, said the state minister.
“It will be an opportunity to refresh and renew their commitment to strengthen the BIMSTEC Process in all respects,” he said.
Transport connectivity master plan likely to be adopted in 5th BIMSTEC Summit: Shahriar
The 5th BIMSTEC Summit, scheduled to be held on March 30, is likely to adopt the long-awaited BIMSTEC transport connectivity master plan, says State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam.
This plan, he said, will put new impetus in implementation of multi-modal connectivity projects involving the member states towards regional integration in the Bay of Bengal region.
Though the COVID-19 pandemic slowed down the momentum, the 5th BIMSTEC Summit will be held this month after four years since the 4th BIMSTEC Summit held in 2018. This summit will be hosted by current chair Sri Lanka.
The 5th BIMSTEC Summit will be an opportunity to review and reflect what had worked and what did not, said the State Minister.
“It will be an opportunity to refresh and renew their commitment to strengthen the BIMSTEC Process in all respects,” he said.
Also read: Shahriar meets Lekhi in Delhi
At the impending BIMSTEC Summit, Alam said, a substantive number of issues are expected to be high on the agenda of the leaders for their consideration and adoption.
Dhaka for expediting BIMSTEC process with enhanced trade, investment
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Thursday urged Member States to expedite BIMSTEC process noting that an enhanced trade and investment in this region will facilitate income and employment generation.
"Seamless multi-modal connectivity is a precondition for trade and investment promotion and people to people contact," he said.
The Foreign Minister made the remarks at the 17th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting virtually held in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Thursday.
Also read: Bimstec SG lauds Bangladesh’s socioeconomic development
The meeting approved/endorsed several BIMSTEC agreements, conventions, MoUs and other important documents /instruments envisaged to be signed/adopted at the fifth BIMSTEC Summit.
The Foreign Ministers and Senior Officials of all the seven BIMSTEC Member States joined the meeting.
Foreign Secretary (Senior Secretary) Masud Bin Momen accompanied the Foreign Minister in the meeting
The 5th BIMSTEC Summit is expected to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka this year subject to the COVID situation.
Dr Momen said BIMSTEC is a member driven organization and members organize the meetings and events to build consensus on cooperation and undertake programme of action in various sectors.
"We need to work simultaneously on a faster pace in all priority sectors to bring synergy in our cooperation to make BIMSTEC a result oriented regional forum," he said.
Dr Momen said Bangladesh is celebrating the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the 50th Anniversary of Independence.
"The Father of the Nation was a visionary leader. In early 1972 he thought of working together with the neighbours in the region for collective progress and prosperity of our peoples. Regional cooperation has been our foreign policy priorities since then," said the Foreign Minister.
He said the Father of the Nation’s able daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s decision to join BIMSTEC as its founding member in 1997 bears the testimony of our commitment to regional cooperation.
Also read: Bimstec offers huge prospects for economic cooperation: Dhaka
"It is manifested in hosting the BIMSTEC Secretariat in Dhaka. As the host country Bangladesh is committed to extend all possible support to strengthen the Secretariat," he said.
Dr Momen said Bangladesh facilitated and supported the consideration and adoption of a series of vital documents in the meeting chaired by Dinesh Gunawardena, Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka and Chairman of the said Meeting.
The meeting approved and recommended the finalized draft text of the BIMSTEC Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, the finalized draft text of the Memorandum of Association on the Establishment of BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility (TTF) in Colombo, Sri Lanka and the draft text of the MoU on Mutual Cooperation between Diplomatic Academies/Training Institutions of BIMSTEC Member States for signature during the Fifth BIMSTEC Summit.
It approved the rationalization of sectors and sub-sectors of BIMSTEC and the Template of the Memorandum of Association (MoA) on the Establishment of the BIMSTEC Centres/Entities for adoption during the Fifth BIMSTEC Summit.
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It also adopted Joint Statement of the 17th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting and BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport Connectivity for onward submission to the 5th BIMSTEC Summit and recommended the draft Text of the Summit Declaration as per recommendation of the Special SOM held virtually yesterday in Colombo.
"We need the legal documents to be ready for signature at the earliest," Dr Momen said adding that hosting meeting regularly and concurrences and participation of Member States in those meetings are very much crucial in this regard.
Transport connectivity: Bimstec master plan ready for approval
The special session of Bimstec Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) Wednesday endorsed the "BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport Connectivity" for approval and adoption by the 17th Bimstec Ministerial Meeting and Fifth Bimstec Summit.
The Fifth Bimstec Summit is expected to be held in Sri Lanka's Colombo this year.
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen virtually took part in the SOM held in Colombo.
He led a four-member Bangladesh delegation of Additional Foreign Secretary Md Shamsul Haque (Saarc and Bimstec) and other officers.
Also read: Bimstec SG lauds Bangladesh’s socioeconomic development
The foreign secretaries and senior officials of all the seven Bimstec member states joined the meeting, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.