Statement by External Affairs Minister of India, H.E. Mr. S.M. Krishna at the Plenary of the 12th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting
H.E. Mr. Nyan Win,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
At the outset I would like to express my profound gratitude to our host, the Foreign Minister of Myanmar, H.E. Mr. Nyan Win, for making excellent arrangements for the 12th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting and the warm hospitality extended to me and my delegation.
2. The people of BIMSTEC countries are linked by the waters that flow down the Himalayas as well as the waters of the Bay of Bengal. There exist complementarities amidst diversities with regard to our potential of economic-commercial cooperation. We need to tap our myriad synergies to consolidate our cooperation.
3. The second Summit held in New Delhi last year was an important milestone and an opportunity to reflect about the achievements so far and the future path. Our Leaders have given concrete ideas to build upon our cooperation for the coming years. These will guide us in shaping the future of our grouping collectively.
4. BIMSTEC has made sure and steady progress. 13 areas of cooperation were identified where considerable progress has been made. We look forward to close consultations in the area of Climate Change which has been identified as the 14th area of cooperation.
5. The signing of the Convention on Cooperation in Combating International Terrorism, Trans-National Organized Crime and Illicit Drug Trafficking is a major achievement of this BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting. This would provide a legal framework for our law enforcement agencies to cooperate in combating the scourge of terrorism, organized crime and drug trafficking. The Convention would send a strong message to the perpetrators of such crimes that the BIMSTEC region can no longer be used as a safe haven and the Governments and the people of the region are united in their response to the threat posed by terrorism, organized crime and drug trafficking.
Mr. Chairman,
6. Today we are meeting in the backdrop of the global economic and financial scenario where the crisis may be bottoming out, but the global economy is not expected to reach 3% growth until the end of 2010. However, to make growth sustainable, and to make good the losses of developmental gains made by the developing countries as a result of the crisis, much remains to be done. The steps which need to be taken to lift millions of people in the developing world, should be brought into focus in the global discourse. We need to pay special attention to this aspect under BIMSTEC.
7. We have been facing an increasing challenge from emerging and re-emerging diseases. No country in the world is immune to this challenge. This century has witnessed global pandemics of SARS, Influenza A H1N1, Chickunguniya and epizootic of avian influenza. BIMSTEC members have to work together in communities, at the national level and the international level, for mitigating these diseases. India can collaborate with our BIMSTEC partner countries in many areas to address the above issues.
8. Agriculture remains the mainstay of economies of the BIMSTEC member countries. The member countries share a unique “unity in diversity” as far as ecology and resources are concerned and this would in fact facilitate high synergism in this endeavour. Given that the challenges being faced by BIMSTEC members in the area of Agriculture are quite similar, we can all put in concerted efforts through development and execution of common programmes aiming at tackling these challenges. Cooperation in seed development is another vital area in this context as seeds play a seminal role in effecting productive agriculture. We would be sharing concept papers on cooperation in these areas shortly.
9. We also need to focus on various areas of connectivity among the member-countries, particularly in the area of transport and communication linkages. Constraints and bottlenecks in this area need to be tackled on a priority basis for enhancing overall cooperation as connectivity in the areas of transport and communication is the basic building block to build on any form of cooperation. We are happy that all members have endorsed the BIMSTEC Transport Infrastructure and Logistics Study conducted by ADB, and further steps would be taken for its implementation.
10. Intra-BIMSTEC trade is another area in which we should make all efforts to move ahead. Our trade is still quite modest. Implementation of the Trade-in-Goods Agreement which was finalised at the last meeting of the TNC in Phuket in June this year will help fully exploit our natural synergies in strengthening trade and economic ties amongst our countries and would provide a fresh impetus to intra-regional trade flows. Similarly, there is considerable scope for enhancing intra-regional investments. We look forward to an agreement in the area of investment and services as the next stage of the FTA.
11. Enhancing people-to-people contacts should also be one of our overarching priorities. I am happy to note that India's think tank, the Research and Information System, will host a meeting of BIMSTEC think tanks in February next year. This meeting will bring our experts and scholars together. I am sure they will come up with suggestions to further consolidate our cooperation.
12. Tourism is an important and growing sector in our economies. BIMSTEC countries may consider creating tourism packages by identifying one tourist destination from each country. These can be then jointly promoted and popularized and other innovative tourism packages can be worked out jointly by our tourism boards. Direct contacts between the tourism stakeholders of BIMSTEC countries should also be encouraged.
13. India is already in the process of establishing the Nalanda University as an international university of excellence. We would be happy to have BIMSTEC closely associated with it.
14. India remains committed to her engagement with BIMSTEC partners in furthering our cooperation in this regional framework. Under our Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme, which is well known as ITEC, we are offering 450 scholarships to BIMSTEC countries to encourage greater exchange of technical know-how in areas of mutual benefit. This includes additional 150 training slots offered by our Prime Minister at the last Summit in New Delhi. I am happy to mention that utilization rate of these training slots has been more than 80%.
15. While BIMSTEC is still a young and growing grouping, in the fast changing global economic scenario we need to make all efforts to make BIMSTEC an effective and enabling platform for further consolidation of our multifaceted cooperation and tap the new emerging opportunities. Establishment of a Permanent Secretariat for BIMSTEC will help coordinate our efforts in an effective way.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Nay Pyi Taw
December 11, 2009
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