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The Secretary General of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), Indra Mani Pandey paid a courtesy call to Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on October 28.
During the meeting, the Secretary-General briefed the Foreign Secretary on the latest developments in the BIMSTEC framework, a press release said on Wednesday.
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 6th 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.
Foreign Secretary Jashim Uddin 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.
He expressed his satisfaction over the adoption of the BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport Connectivity at the 5th 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 the BIMSTEC Chamber of Commerce.
The Foreign Secretary told the Secretary-General that Bangladesh keenly looks forward to taking up the Chairpersonship of BIMSTEC and stands ready to play a proactive role in revitalising the organisation.
He reiterated and assured the Secretary General of Bangladesh’s full support in facilitating the BIMSTEC Secretariat to fulfil its mandate.