Indra Mani Pandey, the secretary general of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), on Tuesday called on Shama Obaed Islam, the state minister for foreign affairs.

During the meeting at the foreign affairs ministry, the BIMSTEC secretary general briefed the state minister on the progress of ongoing activities and key developments under the BIMSTEC framework.

He commended Bangladesh’s leadership and constructive contributions to advancing the BIMSTEC agenda and highlighted the importance of strengthening regional cooperation to foster shared prosperity, resilience and sustainable development across the Bay of Bengal region.

The state minister reaffirmed Bangladesh’s continued commitment to the BIMSTEC process and reiterated the Government’s resolve to further advance regional cooperation during Bangladesh’s Chairmanship of BIMSTEC.

Reiterating to the Government’s foreign policy priority of “Bangladesh First,” Shama Obaed underscored the importance of enhancing cooperation in priority areas, including trade and investment, connectivity, energy, climate change and people-to-people contacts, with a view to delivering tangible benefits to the peoples of the region.

The state minister also expressed Bangladesh’s readiness to host BIMSTEC sectoral meetings, as mutually convenient, to facilitate the timely implementation of the decisions and priorities under its Chairmanship.

Both sides also exchanged views on prospective initiatives to be undertaken during Bangladesh’s Chairmanship with a view to further advancing the BIMSTEC agenda and translating the shared vision of a Prosperous, Resilient and Open BIMSTEC into concrete outcomes for the peoples of the region.