PM opens BIMSTEC Secretariat in Dhaka

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has inaugurated the BIMSTEC Secretariat in Dhaka on Saturday.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 13 Sept 2014, 07:51 AM
Updated : 13 Sept 2014, 03:53 PM

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an alliance of South and South East Asian countries.

Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal are its members.

Prime Minister Hasina inaugurated its first secretariat set up in Dhaka around 11am. It is located in the capital's Gulshan area.

She assured the BIMSTEC of all kinds of cooperation from the Bangladesh government in running the Secretariat.

In her speech, the prime minister stressed poverty alleviation.

"Our economic achievements will mean something if we can handle this challenge," said Hasina.

The prime minister urged for more BIMSTEC initiatives in agriculture.

"Most of the people in this region are still dependent of farming. Apart from ensuring food security, agriculture is one of the main employers."

She also called for implementing the recommendations made by the 'BIMSTEC Transport Infrastructure and Logistics Study Report'.

"One of the major obstacles for economic development of the region is the lack of necessary means of communication," Hasina told the audience.

Describing energy as one of the key areas of cooperation, she said:" This is integral for a sustainable development of the region. Under the BIMSTEC region, hydro electric potential of the Himalayan rivers and hydro-carbon resources in Bay of Bengal are considerable.

She also called for joint and coordinated efforts by BIMSTEC member states to confront the issue of climate change.

Hasina thanked the governments and peoples of BIMSTEC countries for nominating Dhaka to set up the Secretariat.