BIMSTEC regional cooperation need of hour: PM

New Delhi: Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the recent developments have raised questions over the stability of international order, as he called for greater cooperation among BIMSTEC nations and prioritising regional security.

In his remarks at the fifth summit of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation), being held online, Prime Minister Modi said that with the region facing challenges of health and economic security, the need of the hour is unity and cooperation. "Today is the time to make the Bay of Bengal, bridge of connectivity, bridge of prosperity, bridge of security," he said.

Modi said India will provide $1 million (one million is equal to ten lakh) in financial aid to augment the operational budget of the BIMSTEC secretariat. He said the region has not remained untouched by today's challenging global scenario. "Our economies, our people, are still suffering the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic," he said. In an obvious reference to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Modi said the developments in Europe in the last few weeks have "raised a question mark over the stability of international order". "In this context, it has become important to make BIMSTEC regional cooperation more active," he said. It has become essential to give more priority to our regional security, Modi added.

Noting that the BIMSTEC charter is being adopted at the Summit, he said this is an important step in the direction of establishing an institutional architecture. "Now we should focus our attention on how to make this architecture stronger," he said. In this context, Modi said he agrees with the Secretary General's suggestion that an Eminent Persons Group be formed to prepare a vision document.

Modi said the results of this landmark summit will write a golden chapter in BIMSTEC's history. It is also important to enhance the capacity of the BIMSTEC Secretariat to meet our expectations, Modi said and suggested to the BIMSTEC Secretary General to make a roadmap to achieve this goal. The prime minister asserted that it is necessary to make early progress on the proposal of BIMSTEC FTA to enhance mutual trade among member states. "We should also increase exchanges between entrepreneurs and startups of our countries. Along with this, we should also try to adopt international norms in the field of trade facilitation," he told the BIMSTEC leaders. In this context, the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), is about to launch a programme to raise awareness of our officials. Asserting that without security it is impossible to ensure the prosperity or development of the region, Modi recalled that at the grouping's fourth summit in Kathmandu, it was decided to strengthen the regional legal framework against terrorism, trans-national crime and non-traditional threats.