Four deals likely to be signed during next BIMSTEC meet

Bangladesh prepares to sign four important deals during the BIMSTEC's upcoming ministerial meet to boost economic ties among the member-countries.
The signing of the deals, in fact, will lay the foundation for the BIMSTEC Free Trade Area (FTA).
Dhaka will host in mid-April the Trade and Economic Ministerial Meeting of the sub-regional grouping comprising countries in the Bay-of-Bengal rim.
Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali disclosed the information while addressing the inaugural session of a seminar on 'Bangladesh and Bimstec: Way Forward'. It was
organised by Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS).
Highlighting the importance of revitalizing the activities of the regional cooperation group -BIMSTEC-the minister said that early realization of the BIMSTEC Free Trade Area (FTA) would help promote trade and investment in the region.
The signing of the four instruments has been held back since 2009 as one member did not submit its tariff schedule - a core component of the instruments.
BIMSTEC, or Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, is a sub-regional economic bloc formed in Bangkok in June 1997. Started with only four participating members and six areas of cooperation, it has now expanded to seven members and fourteen areas of cooperation.
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand are now members of Bimstec. Dhaka hosts its headquarters.
Bangladesh will host the 6th BIMSTEC Trade and Economic Ministerial Meeting. It will be preceded by a Task Force Meeting on Energy in Dhaka early February 2015 to sign the four important instruments related to BIMSTEC-FTA. It will also finalize MoU on BIMSTEC Energy and Grid Interconnection.
The minister pointed out another area of cooperation from where the country may gain tremendously: connectivity.
Dhaka hopes trans-border communications would facilitate trade, investment, tourism and people-to-people contacts among the member-nations.
Under the aegis of BIMSTEC, he said, Bangladesh is also cooperating in important areas like poverty alleviation, climate change, agriculture, health, technology, counter-terrorism and transnational crime, cultural cooperation and tourism.
According to the Foreign Minister, the year 2015 could be a game changer in respect of BIMSTEC as an organization with the sincere and collective efforts of all member-states.
Held at the BIISS auditorium, the inaugural function of the meet was also addressed, among others, by BIMSTEC Secretary-General Sumith Nakandala and BIISS Director-General AKM Abdur Rahman. BIISS Board of Governors Chairman Ambassador Munshi Faiz Ahmad presided. Foreign-policy experts, diplomats, researchers and former bureaucrats also joined the seminar.
The Bimstec secretary-general also rated the year 2015 as extremely important for Bimstec. He hopes the member-states would be able to finalise the Bimstec FTA this year, not going back behind the reasons of inability to finalise it yet.
Nakandala noted that there is no lack of political commitment--he had seen that commitment at the highest level regarding the matter.
He stressed the need for a very dynamic leadership which will take forward the BIMSTEC to reach its objectives by taking lessons from the failures. "Bangladesh is in right place to take the lead role," he told the function.
Terming BIMSTEC a bridge between the two fastest-growing regions of the world, the Foreign Minister said Bangladesh attaches great importance to regional cooperation and played a constructive role in enhancing regional cooperation - within the relevant processes of BIMSTEC, SAARC and BCIM-EC.
Bangladesh as a founder-member is deeply committed to BIMSTEC, which was further demonstrated when the members of BIMSTEC decided that the BIMSTEC Secretariat would be established in Dhaka, he said.
"Situated at the connecting point between South and Southeast Asia, Bangladesh is enjoying the geo-strategic advantage which needs to be translated into economic opportunities and tangible outcomes," said the Foreign Minister, adding that BIMSTEC, as a link between the two regions, "can help us in achieving that goal".
He pointed out that the BIMSTEC members are showing an impressive trend of economic growth. "To sustain the growth, we need to secure stable and affordable energy supply through exploration and utilisation of the regional energy resources potential, which would remain a core priority for Bimstec."
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