Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has said that regional cooperation is the only route to a more resilient, prosperous, and sustainable Bay of Bengal region.
In order to realize this regional aspiration, we must enhance the visibility of BIMSTEC and promote stronger partnerships with international organizations, he added. PM Deuba said this during a virtual address to the Fifth BIMSTEC Summit held today in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The theme of the BIMSTEC Fifth Summit is, ‘Towards a Resilient Region, Prosperous Economies, Healthy Peoples’. Stating that the world today faces challenges that are both complex and unprecedented in their nature, gravity, and urgency, the Prime Minister said, “These challenges are further aggravated by emerging threats, primarily climate change, digital divide, and crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.”
He viewed that like any other part of the world, our region has been fighting an epic battle against the pandemic over the last two years, noting hundreds of thousands of people have died, many have relapsed into poverty, and structural vulnerabilities have deepened.
“Even if the pandemic curve seems to be flattening gradually, the fight is far from over. Its economic and developmental consequences are sure to play out for quite some time,” he said.
According to him, vaccine inequity has become yet another impediment to resilient recovery. “In this context, our Summit today carries a higher significance. It is a true testament to the resilience of our regional spirit, a pledge of unity and solidarity, and a crucial step forward for our cooperation and collaboration.”
Prime Minister Deuba said, “It is a commitment to the shared goals of peace, progress and prosperity as enshrined in the 1997 Bangkok Declaration. The Fourth Summit held in Kathmandu was a significant marker of the renewed urgency recommitting to building a robust BIMSTEC.
It mandated the negotiation of the Charter, recommended the rationalization and restructuring of sectors and sub-sectors, and called for strengthening the Secretariat.
