Addressing a session - Towards a Bay of Bengal Community: Development, Growth and Security - at the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, Nepal's Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi said a charter was needed to enhance the profile of the initiative.
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional grouping of seven nations of South Asia and South East Asia, that was established 20 years ago. It has its secretariat in Dhaka.
"The most important thing is to have a kind of a charter to enhance the profile of BIMSTEC, a legal instrument to outline the role of the secretariat. We have the founding document, but we need a charter," he said.
Bairagi said Nepal was planning to host a summit "sometime this year" as the chair of the BIMSTEC grouping.
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"The chief guests from 10 countries of the region will attend the Republic Day celebrations. That itself shows the importance we attach to BIMSTEC policies," she said.
Leaders of 10 ASEAN nations are expected to attend the Republic Day celebrations on January 26 in New Delhi.
Saran said the grouping was poised to move ahead as there was a political will and close coordination among its members.
In cross-border matters, it takes two to tango, and the political will is there and the members meet frequently to solve issues. "We are one track", she said.
India has been giving more importance to BIMSTEC as the SAARC talks have stalled for the past a few years.
Besides India and Nepal, other BIMSTEC members are Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand and Bhutan. The region represents nearly one-fifth of the global population and a combined GDP of close to USD 3 trillion.
Sri Lanka's State Minister of Foreign Affairs Vasantha Senanayake said the BIMSTEC initiative has the strength of pooling complementary strengths of nations from the SAARC and the ASEAN groupings.
"The region is also rich in biodiversity, and we have to maintain a delicate balance, so that we exploit it without hurting the marine biodiversity," Senanayake said.
Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali was scheduled to attend the session, but could not make it.
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