Dhaka, 28 October 2024:

The Secretary General of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), Mr Indra Mani Pandey, paid a courtesy call on the Foreign Secretary, Mr Md. Jashim Uddin, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 28 October 2024. During the meeting, the Secretary General briefed the Foreign Secretary on the latest developments in the BIMSTEC framework. He acknowledged that Bangladesh plays a pivotal role in advancing the BIMSTEC process.

The BIMSTEC Secretary General informed the Foreign Secretary that efforts are underway to reschedule the 6^th BIMSTEC Summit, which was postponed earlier. The Secretary General further informed that the Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) is scheduled to be held virtually on December 2024. The Foreign Secretary reiterated that Bangladesh's proposal to host the Working Group meetings on Trade Facilitation, Customs Cooperation, and Rules of Origin to finalize the BIMSTEC FTA remains in place.

The Foreign Secretary expressed his satisfaction over the adoption of the BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport Connectivity at the 5^th BIMSTEC Summit held in Colombo in 2022 and emphasized the need to implement the BIMSTEC Master Plan in a time-bound manner. The Foreign Secretary and the Secretary General underscored the importance of the early formation of BIMSTEC Chamber of Commerce.

The Foreign Secretary told the Secretary General that Bangladesh keenly looks forward to take up the Chairpersonship of BIMSTEC and stands ready to play a proactive role to revitalize the organization.

The Foreign Secretary reiterated and assured the Secretary General of Bangladesh's full support in facilitating the BIMSTEC Secretariat to fulfill its mandate.