DiplomaticCorrespondent

Bangladesh sees this year's BIMSTEC Summit, scheduled to be held in Bangkok, Thailand on April 4, "very important" for the country as it will assume the chairmanship of the grouping for the next two years.Dhaka also thinks the summit will provide them with an opportunity to present a "just and inclusive" Bangladesh in South and Southeast Asia, officials said this week.The 6th Summit of the Heads of State/Governments of the member States of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) will be preceded by a meeting of BIMSTEC senior officials on April 2 and a meeting of BIMSTEC Foreign or External Affairs Ministers on April 3.Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus is scheduled to leave for Bangkok on April 3, his Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder told UNB on Monday.Prior to this year’s BIMSTEC Summit, the chief adviser will deliver a keynote speech at the forum titled “BIMSTEC Young Generation Forum: Where the Future Meets” on April 3.The theme of the 6th summit, which is being held three years after the 5th summit (Virtual, Colombo, 30 March 2022), is “Prosperous, Resilient, and Open BIMSTEC”.The summit, which aims at fostering collaboration among the member states to address the shared security and developmental challenges, will provide a new impetus to the efforts underway
to realise the goal of a prosperous, resilient and open BIMSTEC, according to the BIMSTEC Secretariat.

Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin said the summit will further "strengthen and deepen" the relationship between Bangladesh and other BIMSTEC member states and will play an important role in advancing regional peace and development."It goes without saying that this 6th BIMSTEC Summit is a new step for the new Bangladesh in the regional arena through BIMSTEC," he said, hoping that the 6th BIMSTEC Summit will be successful.The foreign secretary will participate in the 25th BIMSTEC senior officials’ meeting and the foreign adviser will participate in the 20th BIMSTEC ministerial meeting.There is a possibility of signing an agreement on ‘Maritime Transport cooperation’ between BIMSTEC member states at the 6th BIMSTEC Summit, said the foreign secretary.This agreement is expected to help enhance regional economic and trade relations by strengthening commercial shipping and maritime transport, he said.The summit, the BIMSTEC headquarters said, has a rich agenda - adoption of the declaration of 6th BIMSTEC Summit, which will reflect the vision of the leaders as well as their decisions and directives; adoption of the Bangkok Vision 2030.This is the first vision document which will be adopted by the Leaders. It provides a comprehensive and practical roadmap for future cooperation amongst the BIMSTEC member States.Signing of the agreement on Maritime Transport Cooperation aims at expanding maritime transport in Bay of Bengal with a view to enhancing transport of cargo as well as people enabling more trade and travel amongst the member States.Meanwhile, signing of the Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) between BIMSTEC and Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), and BIMSTEC and United Nations Office onDrugs and Crime (UNODC), are part of agenda which will herald a new era of developmental partnerships between BIMSTEC and these organisations.Adoption of the Rules of Procedure for the BIMSTEC Mechanisms, which, togetherwith the Charter, lay the foundation of institutional framework for regional cooperation under BIMSTEC; and adoption of the Report of Eminent Persons Group on the Future Direction of BIMSTEC are among the agenda.The Group held six meetings in 2024. It consulted the relevant stakeholdersand finalised its Report in September 2024 after extensive deliberations.The report contains a number of recommendations and the member states have commenced steps aimed at implementing the Report.In a rapidly evolving and uncertain global political and economic situation, the 6thBIMSTEC Summit will further reinforce the critical role of BIMSTEC, as the only regional organisation in Bay of Bengal, in forging regional cooperation to enable the member States to deal with their shared security and sustainable development challenges.BIMSTEC which brings together five countries from South Asia and two countries from South East Asia, is poised to evolve into a vibrant and dynamic regional organisation.As BIMSTEC’s highest policymaking body, the Summits play a "pivotal role" in shaping the organization’s agenda and work.Since BIMSTEC’s inception in June 1997, five Summits have been held in Bangkok (2004), New Delhi (2008), Nay Pyi Daw (2014), Kathmandu (2018) and Colombo (2022).BIMSTEC comprises seven countries of the Bay of Bengal region: Bangladesh, Bhutan,India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.It pursues regional cooperation in seven broad sectors: Agriculture & Food Security; Connectivity; Environment & Climate Change; People-to-People Contact; Science, Technology & Innovation; Security; and Trade, Investment & Development.The cooperation also covers 8 sub-sectors: Blue Economy, Mountain Economy, Energy, Disaster Management, Fisheries & Livestock, Poverty Alleviation, Health, and Human Resource Development.