New Delhi: – On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon members of the BIMSTEC to transform the Bay of Bengal into a bridge of connectivity, prosperity and security and to infuse dynamism in its activity, virtual summit hosted by Sri Lanka took some vital decisions.
PM Modi said “Ensuring better coordination, a mutual legal assistance treaty on criminal matters is being signed between us. We should move quickly on other similar instruments for better coordination.”
Under the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sector Technical and Economic Cooperation) umbrella and addressing only the fifth summit of this 25-year-old-grouping via video, PM Modi said the developments in Europe in the last few weeks had raised a question mark over the stability of international order and in this context it had become important to accelerate regional cooperation.
He said while announcing a $1 million grant to augment the BIMSTEC Secretriat’s Operational Budget, “Today is the time to make the Bay of Bengal a bridge of connectivity, prosperity and security.”
While approving its major reorganization at a virtual summit, the leaders of the seven-nation BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative For Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) also entrusted India to helm the grouping’s security pillar and India has been making concerted efforts to make BIMSTEC.
A vibrant forum for regional cooperation as initives under SAARC (South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation) were not moving forward for variety of reasons. Besides India, the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) comprises Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan.
Published By : Ankit Singh
Edited By : Khushi Thakur
