PM Modi calls for strengthening BIMSTEC
The Hindu
Ministry of External Affairs says India will be the ‘security pillar’ of the grouping
India will be the “security pillar” of the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation), an official of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Wednesday at the conclusion of the grouping’s summit in Colombo.
Addressing the meeting virtually, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for strengthening the BIMSTEC and welcomed the unveiling of the Charter of the organisation that connects the littoral countries of the Bay of Bengal.
“Today we have adopted the Charter of BIMSTEC. This is an important step towards creating an institutional architecture of BIMSTEC,” he said in Hindi. The Charter had given the BIMSTEC a new orientation and concrete goals. Under this Charter, the members were expected to meet once in every two years.
Mr. Modi called for a Free Trade Agreement among the member countries. He mentioned the necessity for coastal shipping ecosystem and electricity grid interconnectivity, as two of the necessary components of the evolving shape of BIMSTEC.
The summit saw the declaration of the Master Plan for Transport Connectivity that would provide a framework for regional and domestic connectivity, said the MEA official.
Rudrendra Tandon, MEA’s Joint Secretary in charge of the BIMSTEC and South Asian region, stated, “the signing of the Charter was the main outcome of this summit. With the Charter, the BIMSTEC now has an international personality. It has an emblem, it has a flag. It has a formally listed purpose and principles that it is going to adhere to. It represents significant evolution of the grouping. From our perspective signing of the Charter was the most important outcome.”
He announced that In line with the development of the organisation into a formal structure, the leaders of the member-countries have agreed to divide the working of the grouping into seven segments, with India providing leadership to the security pillar.
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