President calls for strong cooperation to eradicate poverty

President Maithripala Sirisena emphasized the need of strong cooperation programme to eradicate the poverty in the region during the Third Ministerial Meeting of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) which was commenced in Colombo, today.

Delegates from BIMSTEC Member States- Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand are attending this Meeting. Addressing the Meeting President Maithripala Sirisena said that a strong cooperation programme is needed to eradicate the poverty in the region and to promote prosperity.

President Sirisena emphasized the need to make commitment by all of us to eradicate poverty from the human society, not only in the region and recalled the responsibility lies with the world’s powerful nations, to ensure that no one will starve in the world.

He said that Sri Lanka’s poverty alleviation programme was implemented in this year and in parallel to this the year 2018 was declared as the National Food Production Year.

The President said that he is pleased to hold this event in Sri Lanka at a time when BIMSTEC region is becoming an important player in the international geopolitics.   He also emphasized the persistence necessary to achieve the goals of the region in achieving the goal of the BIMSTEC.

Representatives, including the State Minister of Finance and Planning of Bangladesh, Muhammad Abdul Mannan, Bhutan’s Minister of Finance, Lyonpo Namgay Dorji, Myanmar’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, Minister of Internal Affairs of Thailand attended the Meeting. Minister of Social Empowerment, Welfare and Kandyan Heritage S.B. Dissanayake, Secretary to the Ministry Sriyani Weerakoon and others participated on this occasion.