Foreign Secretary Admiral Professor Colombage chairing the 21st Session of the Senior Officials’ Meeting (SoM) urged BIMSTEC Member States to embrace the “new normal, and adapt fast”, at the first virtual meeting held on 2 September 2020, in Colombo. For prelims and mains: BIMSTEC- members, objectives, significance and need for reforms. Proposed by Sri Lanka, the Member States, observed a minute's silence in solidarity with the President, Prime Minister and the people of India on the sad occasion of the demise of former President of India His Excellency Pranab Mukherjee. What is BIMSTEC – Objectives, members and summit September 23, 2018 A regional economic cooperation of nations lying to adjacent areas of Bay of Bengal is known as Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC). See for a detailed historical account of the founding and evolution of BIST-EC and BIMST-EC e.g. Topic covered: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests. BIMSTEC Network of Traditional Medicine in India, Provides cooperation to one another for the provision of training and research facilities in educational vocational and technical fields, Promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in economic, social, technical and scientific fields of common interest, Provides help to increase the socio-economic growth of the member countries, Regional disaster monitoring and warning system, This page was last edited on 15 September 2020, at 13:35. 145–163. In February 2004, Nepal and Bhutan become full members. Following the inclusion of Myanmar on 22 December 1997 during a special Ministerial Meeting in Bangkok, the Group was renamed ‘BIMST-EC’ (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation). The Government official news portal is maintains by the New Media Unit of the Department of Government Information and it was titled "news.lk" and commenced in mid1996 and release to Internet from March 01st, 1997. Member nations are denoted as Lead Countries for each sector. Foreign Secretary Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage chairing the 21st Session of the Senior Officials’ Meeting (SoM) urged BIMSTEC Member States to embrace the “new normal, and adapt fast”, at the first virtual meeting held on Wednesday in Colombo. [8][9] Following the inclusion of Myanmar on 22 December 1997 during a special Ministerial Meeting in Bangkok, the Group was renamed ‘BIMST-EC’ (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation). The BIMSTEC Permanent Secretariat at Dhaka was opened in 2014 and India contributes 33% of its expenditure. [12], Nepal Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, Prime Minister, 14 priority areas have been identified with the lead nations appointed to lead the effort:[4][7][14], The BIMSTEC Free Trade Area Framework Agreement (BFTAFA) has been signed by all member nations to stimulate trade and investment in the parties, and attract outsiders to trade with and invest in the BIMSTEC countries at a higher level. In 1998, Nepal became an observer. What is the BIMSTEC summit? The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organisation of seven nations of South Asia and Southeast Asia, housing 1.5 billion people and having a combined gross domestic product of $3.5 trillion (2018). India's Foreign Policy and Regional Multilateralism (Palgrave Macmillan), pp. BIMSTEC What to study? Handover Ceremony of 1 million face masks by Temasek Foundation of Singapore, Temporary Suspension of Consular Services at Foreign Ministry, Navy disinfects Inter-Provincial Main Passenger Bus Terminal, Colombo Fort, Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the African Union Ambassador Sugeeshwara GunaratnaPresents Credentials, Quarantine curfew has been imposed in Seeduwa Police area, « Press Release   Related to the press release- under the title ‘Fire breaks out on Panama-flagged New Diamond oil tanker’ issued on 04th September 2020, Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Guangzhou participates in 28th Guangzhou Fair ». The BIMSTEC uses the alphabetical order for the Chairmanship. On 6 June 1997, a new sub-regional grouping was formed in Bangkok under the name BIST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand Economic Cooperation). The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional multilateral organisation. Compared to the deep sea shipping, coastal ship require smaller vessels with lesser draft and involve lower costs. The collective GDP of US dollars 3 trillion, which was a benchmark prior to the pandemic, should not become an unattainable goal in the face of this devastation, he said and that the goal should be to surpass. [19] The main aims of this summit is providing a platform to strengthen maritime interaction, port-led connectivity initiatives and sharing best practices among member countries. Best web Sri Lanka - 2018Media, Sports & Entertainment Category - Silver Award (www.news.lk), Last modified on Saturday, 05 September 2020 19:59. All rights reserved.For reprint rights. Sectors 7 to 13 were added at the 8th Ministerial Meeting in Dhaka in 2005 while the 14th sector was added in 11th Ministerial Meeting in New Delhi in 2008. The permanent secretariat is in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Fourteen priority sectors of cooperation have been identified and several BIMSTEC centres have been established to focus on those sectors. The Member States also took note of the nomination of Mr Tenzin Lekphell, as the next Secretary General of BIMSTEC from Bhutan. Once negotiation on trade in goods is completed, the TNC would then proceed with negotiation on trade in services and investment. On 31 July 2004, in the first Summit the grouping was renamed as BIMSTEC or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation.[10]. The Sri Lanka delegation comprised Actg. In his inaugural remarks, the Foreign Secretary stated that global dynamics will not be the same after the COVID-19 pandemic as it has affected all States, in various degrees, as it transformed from a health crisis to an economic and human crisis as described by the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) becomes a partner in 2005, to undertake the "BIMSTEC Transport Infrastructure and Logistic Study" (BTILS), which was completed in 2014. What is BIMSTEC, Who are the members of BIMSTEC summit? In February 2004, Nepal and Bhutan become full members. Inland Revenue Department would be closed for general public from Oct:07 until further notice. The Member States commended the work of Ambassador Shahidul Islam, whose three year term as Secretary General will come to an end in the later part of September 2020. The discussion of the meetings centred on administrative procedures and financial considerations of the organization and preparation and finalization of documents for the approval at the 17th Ministerial Meeting and adoption at the 5th BIMSTEC Summit. News.lk publishes in three languages – Sinhala, Tamil and English. Therefore, he stated that the sector driven Organization should collectively promote trade and investment cooperation, strengthen energy cooperation, increase connectivity and people-to-people contact, focus on disaster management and public health, combat terrorism and extremism, deal with the adverse effects of climate change and work towards poverty alleviation. He said that their messages were clear and encouraging as the Leaders had reiterated and acknowledged the need to build a better and resilient organization that could leverage regional cooperation in the recovery and rehabilitation process in post COVID-19. Times Internet Limited. Once the agreement becomes operational after it is ratified, a lot of cargo movement between the member countries can be done through the cost effective, environment friendly and faster coastal shipping routes.[18]. BIMSTEC Officials visit Bangabandhu's Mausoleum at Tungipara (VIEW MORE) Messages from the BIMSTEC Leaders, Foreign Ministers of the Member States and the Secretary General on the occasion of BIMSTEC Day 2020 (VIEW MORE) BIMSTEC Secretariat Joins Bangabandhu's Centenary Birth Celebration Sri Lanka made special note of his contribution and support during its Chair. BIMSTEC Grid Interconnection MoU signed in 2014. In his inaugural remarks, the Foreign Secretary said that global dynamics will not be the same after […] The Chairmanship of the BIMSTEC has been taken in rotation commencing with Bangladesh (1997–1999). MEDIA RELEASE - Department of Immigration and Emigration, Media, Sports & Entertainment Category - Silver Award (www.news.lk). Context: By inviting leaders from the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) countries, Kyrgyz Republic … [17], The BIMSTEC Coastal Shipping Agreement draft was discussed on 1 December 2017 in New Delhi, to facilitate coastal shipping within 20 nautical miles of the coastline in the region to boost trade between the member countries. Subsequently, the "Trade Negotiating Committee" (TNC) was set up, with Thailand as the permanent chair, to negotiate in areas of trade in goods and services, investment, economic co-operation, trade facilitations and technical assistance for LDCs. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others BIMSTEC leaders at the signing ceremony of BIMSTEC convention and the adoption of Kathmandu Declaration, in Kathmandu on Friday, Aug 31, 2018. Director General of Economic Affairs (Multilateral) Anzul Jhan, Deputy Legal Adviser Tilani Silva, and Executive Assistant Kalani Dharmasena of the Foreign Ministry. Copyright © 2020. Four subgroups: Intelligence sharing – Sri Lanka (lead). In fact, he stated that the crisis has affected the very fabric of daily life of BIMSTEC Member States as economic activities have slowed down with global and regional value chains disrupted, millions of people have lost their jobs with many pushed into poverty and therefore the meeting was timely, as it is an opportunity to build on the assurances made by Heads of State of BIMSTEC Members on combatting the adverse effects of COVID-19 at the 23rd Anniversary of the BIMSTEC Day held in June 2020. The 21st SoM was preceded by the Fourth BIMSTEC Permanent Working Committee (BPWC) chaired by Additional Secretary Economic Affairs Ambassador P M Amza of the Foreign Ministry. [4][5] The BIMSTEC member states – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand[6] – are among the countries dependent on the Bay of Bengal. 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[20], Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, বঙ্গোপসাগরীয় বহুক্ষেত্রীয় প্রযুক্তিগত ও আর্থনীতিক সহযোগীতা উদ্যোগ (বিম্‌সটেক্), ဘင်္ဂလားပင်လယ်အော် စီးပွားရေးနှင့် နည်းပညာဆိုင်ရာ ဘက်စုံ ပူးပေါင်း ဆောင်ရွက်ရေး အဖွဲ့အစည်း (ဘင်းမ်စတက်), बहुक्षेत्रीय तकनीकी और आर्थिक सहयोग के लिए बंगाल की खाड़ी पहल (बिम्सटेक), बहुक्षेत्रीय प्राविधिक तथा आर्थिक सहयोगका लागि बङ्गालको खाडीको प्रयास (बिम्स्टेक), බෙංගාල බොක්ක ආශ්‍රිත රටවල බහු ආංශික තාක්ෂණික