Dinesh elected to chair 17th Session of the Ministerial Meeting of BIMSTEC

Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena was elected to chair the 17th Session of the Ministerial Meeting of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).

Presiding over the conference held in Colombo on 1 April, Minister Gunawardena stated that the charter of the Association of Parliamentarians of BIMSTEC Member States should be finalised early. After finalising the charter, the Parliamentarians are more likely to be committed to the democratic principles and there will be opportunity for them to exchange views and information on the Parliamentary practice, the Minister pointed out.

The member countries of the BIMSTEC, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Thailand were also connected with Sri Lanka virtually during the meeting.

The Minister also stressed the need to expedite the implementation of the BIMSTEC Transport Connectivity Master Plan prepared by the Asian Development Bank. Addressing the BIMSTEC meeting, the Minister said that the constraints faced today during the COVID-19 epidemic by the transport links, including coastal navigation, waterways, ports and harbours which have been used for centuries, should be studied and plans should be made to suit the supply of air cargo, public relations and regional development, in the future.

The Sri Lankan delegation to the Ministerial Meeting was led by the State Minister for Regional Cooperation, Tharaka Balasuriya.

The Foreign Minister welcomed the newly appointed Secretary General Mr. Tenzin Lekphell from Bhutan, and wished him success in leading the BIMSTEC Secretariat and pledged Sri Lanka’s support to all his endeavors.

The BIMISTEC Ministers reviewed the progress made since the fourth BIMSTEC Summit held in Kathmandu in 2018, where Sri Lanka was elected as Chair.

State Minister Balasuriya  said that  Sri Lanka fully focused its  energies  and  worked  closely  with Member States  to  finalize  the BIMSTEC Charter, building on the 1997 Bangkok Declaration. This Charter defines the long term vision and priorities for cooperation, delineates roles and responsibilities of different layers of institutional structure and decision making processes. In addition he stated that the Member States also prioritized and rationalized sectors and subsectors of the organization where Sri Lanka agreed to lead the sector on Science, Technology and Innovation with sub sectors Technology, Health and Human Resource Development. He stated that the relevant  line agencies in  Sri Lanka  are developing  a programme of action  for  the  sector taking into  consideration also the gaps  exposed in the relevant areas  by the  pandemic.

He informed that the current pandemic has amply demonstrated the importance of technology. In  this  connection Sri Lanka  is also  getting ready to  host the Technology Transfer  Facility  in Sri Lanka upon conclusion  of the  Memorandum of Association  at the  5th BIMSTEC Summit.

The Ministers  noted  with appreciation  the extensive  measures  taken by  member States  of  BIMSTEC  in responding  and  supporting  Member States  to face challenges  posed  by the COVID 19 pandemic and   urged  member states to mobilize  all relevant  sectors and sub sectors to take  collective  measures  to combat  the  challenges  of poverty, natural  disasters,  climate  change, pandemics and  other public  health  emergencies, terrorism and transnational  crimes, and food  and energy  security  through  partnerships and  joint actions.

While noting with appreciation  the extensive  measures  taken by  Member States of  BIMSTEC, State Minister   further noted that the   COVID-19   has   devastated  economies of member states  in various  degrees and  the BIMSTEC  region no longer  enjoys US$3 trillion economy, which accounts for 4 per cent of the global GDP and 3.7 per cent of the global trade. Therefore, he urged Member States to continue to share experiences, including success, challenges and lessons learnt in building back better from the COVID-19 pandemic through inclusive, resilient sustainable recovery strategies and investments.

The Sri Lanka  Delegation informed  the meeting that   the date  to  host   the 5th  BIMSTEC Summit  will be  informed   after  consultations  with   Member States   through the BIMSTEC Secretariat in the  coming  months.

The Ministers approved the finalized BIMSTEC Agreements, Conventions and MoUs and other documents and instruments including the Ministerial Joint Statement envisaged to be signed /adopted at the 5th BIMSTEC Summit.

The Member States delegations were led by His Excellency Dr. A. K. Abdul Momen, Hon. Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, HE Dr. Tandi Dorji, Hon. Foreign Minister of Bhutan, His Excellency Dr. S.Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India, H.E. U Ko Ko Hlaing, Union Minister, Ministry of International Cooperation Myanmar,Hon. Mr. Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, Minister for Foreign Affairs Nepal, Hon. Tharaka Balasuriya, State Minister of Regional Cooperation of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and HE Mr. Don Paramudwinai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand.

The delegation from Sri Lanka also comprised PM Amza, Additional Secretary, Economic Affairs, Anzul Jhan, Acting Director General, Economic Affairs, T H R Silva, Deputy Legal Affairs and Kalani Dharmasena, Executive Assistant of Economic Affairs of the Foreign Ministry.