bilaterals.org | 2015 can be a ‘game-changer’ for BIMSTEC
Senior Correspondent, bdnews24.com
This year could be a “game-changer” for the BIMSTEC, foreign minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali has said .
This is because a number of decisions taken in the past to make BIMSTEC a reality are likely to be implemented in 2015.
The grouping began in 1997 with the name BIST-EC –Bangladesh, India,
Sri Lanka, and Thailand Economic Cooperation –focussed on economic
cooperation.
Later Myanmar joined and the group’s name was changed to BIMSTEC.
In 2003 Nepal and Bhutan joined, but the nomenclature of the group remained unchanged.
The member states identified 14 areas of cooperation and agreed for a
free trade zone (FTA) connecting South East Asia and South Asia in 2004
but failed to implement the plans.
The intra-regional trade among the member countries that comprise both LDCs and non-LDCs is still hovering about 5 percent.
The member countries seem to prefer bilateral engagements rather than collective efforts to boost trade and connectivity.
The foreign minister at a seminar on Tuesday said early realisation
of the BIMSTEC-FTA to promote trade and investment was of “critical
importance”.
Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS)
organised the seminar titled “Bangladesh and BIMSTEC: way forward”.
