India to continue its support to BIMSTEC: Dr Jaishankar

Minister of External Affairs of India Dr S Jaishankar has reiterated India's strong commitment to continue support to the BIMSTEC process.

The Indian external affairs minister said this after BIMSTEC Secretary General Ambassador M Shahidul Islam called on him in New Delhi on July 23 and discussed wide ranging issues pertaining to BIMSTEC, according to a release.

"India sees virtue in the BIMSTEC and advocated for investment of more energy into this regional initiative by the Member States," Dr Jaishankar said.

BIMSTEC, an intergovernmental platform that brings together seven countries from South and South-east Asia, is increasingly becoming visible as a means to strengthen economic and physical connectivity among the countries of the Bay of Bengal region.

Currently, BIMSTEC has seven members: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Referring to the ongoing institutional reform of BIMSTEC, Dr Jaishnkar expressed hope that with streamlining of activities, BIMSTEC will be able to deliver more results in near future.

He also said that with India's focus on the neighbourhood and especially towards East, BIMSTEC will remain a key priority for India.

He stressed the historical and cultural linkages that BIMSTEC Member States share and said that India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a strong advocate of collective prosperity of all countries of the Bay of Bengal region.

BIMSTEC Secretary General M Shahidul Islam briefed the Indian external affairs minister on the initiatives taken by the BIMSTEC Secretariat towards fulfillment of the directives of the BIMSTEC leaders given in the Fourth BIMSTEC Summit held in Kathmandu of Nepal in August last year.

He placed emphasis on the need to hold Sectoral Meetings more regularly and complete the ongoing review and rationalisation of sectors of cooperation to bring focus in BIMSTEC's work.

The secretary general invited the Indian external affairs minister to visit BIMSTEC Secretariat during his future visit to Bangladesh.