BIMSTEC HQ in Dhaka

A decade after its formation, BIMSTEC, which stands for 'The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation' and encompasses five nations from South and South East Asia, a permanent secretariat has been set up in Dhaka. Experts are lauding it as a major step in realising the vision of “shared development” across 14 sectors spanning from trade and investment, communication, energy, poverty alleviation and counter terrorism. What is of import is to take forward the initiative as member countries' governments are on board with the scheme.
Needless to say, many of the problems of development are shared across member states. In terms of communication, direct road links spanning from Myanmar to India and beyond would greatly increase cross border trade to the tune of billions. Bangladesh, as the gateway located strategically between the east and the west would greatly benefit from such an arrangement. Terrorism is a security threat that plagues all the nations involved in the BIMSTEC initiative and better sharing of intelligence could help maintain peace from a regional perspective.
Investment, particularly foreign direct investment in the areas of energy and infrastructure are prime areas of interest for all member countries. Technical cooperation in these areas to develop the region as a whole will undoubtedly be a welcome move and BIMSTEC, it is hoped, will play a pivotal role in this area. We wholeheartedly welcome the founding of the secretariat here in Dhaka and look forward to it playing a constructive role in expediting development in the region.