BIMSTEC countries trade only about 7 percent. Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali said it will be possible to upgrade to 21 percent.
He said this at the conference organized on 20th anniversary of establishing BIMSTEC in the Bay of Bengal Initiative Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Secretariat in Gulshan on Tuesday. The Foreign Minister said, BIMSTEC could be an alternative body of development in South Asia and Southeast Asia with the potential of countries. The BIMSTEC countries will play an important role in the development of this area for investment and energy.Bimetech Director General Ambassador Md. Shahidul Islam said BIMSTEC has been playing an unparalleled role of communication as a bridge between South Asia and Southeast Asia. Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, who was sent to the conference, read the statement of its representative Piyus Srivastava In the speech, Sushma said, BIMSTEC is one fifth of the world's promised people to improve the living standard. Terrorism is the biggest threat in this area. To combat terrorism, we have to build security forces in different sectors.
