SL WILL FORGE CLOSER COOPERATION WITH BIMSTEC - FOREIGN SECRETARY

Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha said Sri Lanka will forge closer cooperation, especially in the areas of counter terrorism and transnational crimes, while extending his appreciation for the solidarity shown by member countries of BIMSTEC towards Sri Lanka in the aftermath of Easter attacks.

He said this at the recently concluded 2nd meeting of the (BIMSTEC) Permanent Working Committee (BPWC) hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombo.

Rationalization of areas of cooperation of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and draft Charter of the organisation were deliberated and a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to be signed between the BIMSTEC Secretariat and the Asian Development Bank was agreed on at the meeting.

The deliberations were attended by all BIMSTEC Member States namely, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the BIMSTEC Secretariat. The meeting was chaired by the Additional Secretary, Economic Affairs Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs P.M. Amza.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Aryasinha emphasized the importance of individual and collective efforts of Member States in making BIMSTEC a more robust organisation.he noted with concern that BIMSTEC which entered its third decade, is yet to reap benefits of the full socioeconomic potential of the region – with intra- regional trade at only 3.7% and investment approximately 5%.

He urged delegations to actively seek to understand what holds the organization back – imagination, resources or political will. As current BIMSTEC Chair, Sri Lanka saw as crucial in re-energizing the organisation, the early finalization of the BIMSTEC Charter and the rationalization of the sectors in order to maximize utilization of resources and to make BIMSTEC a result oriented organisation delivering tangible benefits to all its people.

As current BIMSTEC Chair, Sri Lanka saw as crucial in re-energizing the organization, the early finalization of the BIMSTEC Charter and the rationalization of the sectors in order to maximize utilization of resources