Dhaka, 2 September 2020:

Bangladesh’s Foreign Secretary, Ambassador Masud Bin Momen took part in the 21^st Session of the BIMSTEC Senior Official’s Meeting (SOM) virtually held today, on 2 September 2020 in Colombo Sri Lanka. The Foreign Secretaries and Senior Officials of all the seven BIMSTEC member states joined the first ever virtually held SOM during this unprecedented COVID-19 Pandemic.

Bangladesh facilitated and supported the endorsement of a series of vital documents at the 21^st Session of the BIMSTEC Senior Official’s Meeting chaired by H.E. Mr. Admiral Prof JayanathColombage, the Foreign Secretary of Sri Lanka and 4^th BIMSTEC Permanent Working Committee (BPWC) Meeting also virtually held on 31^st August 2020. The meeting recommended some c ritical legal documents like the BIMSTEC Charter, Convention on Cooperation on Criminal and Legal Matters, MOA on Technology Transfer Facilities, MOU on Cooperation among Diplomatic Training Academies, Template of MOA on BIMSTEC Centers and Entities, finalization of BIMSTEC Transport Connectivity Master Plan to be signed during the 5th BIMSTEC Summit.

With the finalization of the BIMSTEC Charter, a long overdue document since BIMSTEC’s inception, it is expected that BIMSTEC will move on a fast track. Moreover, the SOM considered the report of 4th BPWC Meeting that has finalized and recommended some more important legal documents including Rules of Procedures, Procurement Policy, granting GPF to local staffs, finalization of the Organogram of BIMSTEC. In addition, the 21^st SOM prepared the agenda of the 17^th Ministerial Meeting and the 5th BIMSTEC Summit.

In his remarks to the forum, the Bangladesh Foreign Secretary expressed Bangladesh’s strong commitment to BIMSTEC process and stressed on the importance of strengthening BIMSTEC institutional mechanisms and rationalization of BIMSTEC areas of cooperation keeping in mind the challenges posed by the ongoing global pandemic COVID-19. During the meeting, the Foreign Secretaries of the BIMSTEC member states recommended the appointment of the next Secretary General of BIMSTEC, H.E, Mr. Tenzin Lekphell nominated by Bhutan. Mr. Tenzin Lekphell, a distinguished bureaucrat turned politician, will replace the incumbent Secretary General Ambassador M Shahidul Islam from Bangladesh. While welcoming the appointment of the next Secretary General, echoing with other heads of the delegations of the Senior Official’s Meeting, the Foreign Secretary expressed his confidence that the next Secretary General will carry forward the momentum of the BIMSTEC process ahead that have been created by the incumbent Secretary General through his dynamic activities and innovative initiatives.

The 5^th BIMSTEC Summit preceded by the 17^th BIMSTEC Ministerial meeting is proposed to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in the first half of January 2021 subject to the improved COVID situation. Initially, the 5^th BIMSTEC Summit was proposed to be held in early September 2020 and got postponed due to COVID-19 Pandemic. With the hosting of the Summit, the Chairmanship of BIMSTEC will be handed over to Thailand for the period of 2021-2022. Mentionable that BIMSTEC Summit of the Heads of the BIMSTEC Countries is the highest policy making body in the BIMSTEC process.