Press Release

03 March 2021 :The newly appointed BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Secretary General Mr. Tenzin Lekphell paid a courtesy call on H. E. Sheikh Hasina, Hon’ble Prime Minister of Bangladesh at Ganabhaban earlier today.  The Prime Minister congratulated Mr. Lekphell on his appointment as the Secretary General of BIMSTEC.

The Secretary General updated the Prime Minister on the upcoming BIMSTEC activities including the 17^th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting, which will discuss the modalities and tentative timeframe for convening the Fifth BIMSTIC Summit in Sri Lanka. He apprised on the progress made in the areas of cooperation since the Fourth BIMSTEC Summit held in 2018. The Secretary General also congratulated the Prime Minister for leading the emergence of Bangladesh from a least developed country to a developing one.

Mentioning the establishment of BIMSTEC in 1997 during her first tenure as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, the Prime Minister stated that many things can be achieved through joint efforts. She assured the Secretary General of her government’s full support to BIMSTEC process in making the Organization a dynamic, effective and result-oriented regional grouping. The Prime Minister also spelled out her government’s various initiatives stressing equal emphasize on the lives and livelihoods of the people of Bangladesh to fight against the devastating effect caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.