Latest Breaking News On - Regional fora - Page 1 : comparemela.com

BIMSTEC and Sri Lanka so far Sri Lanka is a founding member of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC). Since its inception in 1997, Sri Lanka has been an active member in the multilateral forum. The island nation held the chairmanship for the first time from 2002-2003, during which Colombo promoted the political commitment of member states to intensify sub-regional co-operation. As of 2016, Colombo’s trade with BIMSTEC members accounted for only 17.4 percent out of the total trade in goods. Its imports from BIMSTEC were only 23 percent of its total imports and Sri Lanka’s exports to BIMSTEC members were only 7 percent. Moreover, India accounted for more than 70 percent of Sri Lanka’s trade with BIMSTEC. Parallel to BIMSTEC’s slow progress, Sri Lanka’s co-operation with the BIMSTEC members grew at a snail’s space.

Sri lankaMaithripala sirisenaDinesh gunawardenaBay of bengal initiative for multiTechnology transfer facilityPermanent working committee meetingsBengal initiativeMulti sectoral technicalEconomic cooperationMutual cooperationTraining institutionsSenior officialsTransfer facilityForeign ministerEast asiaEast asian