Sri Lanka calls for enhanced cooperation among Bay of Bengal countries

COLOMBO, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday called for enhanced cooperation among member countries when chaired the 5th Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit in Colombo.

Rajapaksa said enhanced cooperation between member states will be necessary not only for economic recovery, but also for greater economic prosperity, better public health, and improved regional resilience in the long term.

The president said the theme of the summit was "BIMSTEC: Towards a Resilient Region, Prosperous Economies, Healthy Peoples," and he hoped that these goals could be achieved through collective actions of the leaders of the region.

The summit also adopted the BIMSTEC Charter on Wednesday, which Rajapaksa said is a significant step towards increasing the organization's role, not just within the region, but also as a driving force from Asia in global affairs.

The president also highlighted the importance of trade and investments within the BIMSTEC region given its strategic location at the center of the Indian Ocean and the resources in the Bay of Bengal should be preserved and managed equally.

He also called for collective mechanisms to prevent unregulated, unreported and illegal fishing practices as well as overfishing, which threatens livelihoods in coastal communities.

The summit was attended virtually by Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bhutan Lotay Tshering, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Nepali Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and Prime Minister of Thailand Prayut Chan-o-cha. Foreign Minister of Myanmar Wunna Maung Lwin representing the government of Myanmar also joined the summit virtually.

All the seven leaders emphasized the need to accelerate BIMSTEC's agenda on trade and investment and the need to ensure that private sector and start-ups of the BIMSTEC countries work closer.

Adopting the BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport Connectivity, the leaders reiterated the implementation of projects on maritime, transport cooperation and road connectivity.

A Memorandum of Association on the Establishment of Technology Transfer Facility in Colombo was also signed.

Concluding the summit, President Rajapaksa handed over the chairmanship to Thailand, the next chair of BIMSTEC.