Cabinet okays BIMSTEC charter widening path toward setting up a ‘trade zone’

The draft charter of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, better known as BIMSTEC, was approved by the cabinet on Monday.

The cabinet meeting, presided by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, gave its consent on the draft certificate of BIMSTEC.

Meanwhile, BIMSTEC is likely to hold a summit of the heads of governments in Sri Lanka on March 30 in a hybrid setting providing scopes for both in-person and virtual participation.

After the virtual cabinet meeting, cabinet secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam told the journalists that BIMSTEC certificate was provided to the cabinet for adoption and signing of the fifth BIMSTEC conference.

“We have to sign the certificate before that. The charter has 11 chapters and 36 paragraphs. Bangladesh will provide the secretarial function to the BIMSTEC and the secretariat will have to get legitimacy.”

The secretary said the signing of the BIMSTEC Charter will enable the parties to form a trade zone between the BIMSTEC member countries and it will eventually lead to a major improvement in the communication system. Goods can be brought directly from one country to another by truck or other means.

“The biggest thing is that the natural resources and other minerals that are in the Bay of Bengal will be exploited in a co-operative way,” he said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to join the summit. It is yet to be decided whether she will travel to Sri Lanka or join the meeting virtually, Anwarul said.

Foreign ministers and foreign secretaries of the BIMSTEC member countries are scheduled to meet on March 28 and 29 respectively for facilitating decision making at the summit on March 30.

The heads of the governments of the BIMSTEC member countries are expected to approve a charter for the organisation in the meeting after 24 years of its journey.

The member countries ‘have completed the negotiation of the BIMSTEC charter and it is expected to be signed’ in the forthcoming fifth summit with participation of the heads of the governments in Colombo, BIMSTEC secretary general Tenzin Lekphell had said in October.

The summit was postponed twice in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.