A meeting held between India and Bangladesh to discuss matters related to BIMSTEC. Bangladesh said it is keen to see a more vibrant BIMSTEC with India being a major active partner of the regional economic grouping. The two sides discussed ways and means to make it a vibrant and successful organisation. Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Pranay Kumar Verma was also present during the meeting.
Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Saurabh Kumar discussed various issues related to BIMSTEC with Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen. During the meeting, the Ministers approved several documents including Rules of Procedure for Core BIMSTEC Mechanisms. The meeting also approved the draft Host Country Agreement between India and the BIMSTEC Secretariat for establishing BIMSTEC Centre for Weather and Climate in India.Dhaka is set to become the new chair of the grouping of seven countries in December, with India set to become its secretary-general after the BIMSTEC summit in Thailand on November 30.
Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Masud said, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen will attend the ministerial retreat on July 17 to discuss various issues at the BIMSTEC summit in Bangkok. Thailand will host the summit on 30 November. “There is scope for Bangladesh and India to work together on various issues under BIMSTEC,” said Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Masud.BIMSTEC is an international organization of seven South and Southeast Asian countries including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Masud said Bangladesh’s priority area in BIMSTEC is the economic front while India’s focus is on the security agenda and the two countries would like to coordinate issues between each other through discussions.
