Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said regional cooperation – specifically among south and south-east Asian countries – had become a priority because the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war had ‘raised questions about the stability of the international order’. The prime minister was delivering a virtual address at the BIMSTEC summit chaired by Sri Lanka.
“The time has come to make the Bay of Bengal the bridge of connectivity, prosperity and security. I call on all BIMSTEC nations to dedicate themselves to working with new enthusiasm to achieve the goals we achieved together in 1997,” the Prime Minister said.
“The recent developments in Europe have raised questions about the stability of the international order. In this context, it has become a greater priority to have regional cooperation. Today we are adopting BIMSTEC charter to develop institution architecture for our group,” he added.
Besides India, the BIMSTEC comprises Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan.
The Summit will adopt the ‘BIMSTEC Charter’ which will give the grouping an international identity and lay out the basic institutional architecture through which it will carry out its work.
With 21.7 per cent of the world’s population and combined GDP of USD 3.8 trillion, the BIMSTEC has emerged as an influential engine of economic growth.
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(With inputs from agencies)
