As per the Charter of BIMSTEC, the Secretary General of BIMSTEC shall be appointed by the BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting, upon recommendation by the Senior Officials’ Meeting, for a non-renewable term of office of three years, upon nomination by a Member State based on the principle of alphabetical rotation.
The Secretary General shall act as the Head of the Secretariat.
The Secretary shall be of Ambassadorial rank.
The Secretary General shall have the following duties and responsibilities:
Carry out directives of the Member States through different mechanisms and coordinate implementation of progress;
Coordinate, facilitate and monitor progress in the implementation of BIMSTEC agreements and decisions, and submit annual report on the work of the organization to the BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting;
Participate in meetings of the BIMSTEC Summit, BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting, BIMSTEC Sectoral Ministerial meetings and other relevant BIMSTEC meetings;
Represent BIMSTEC and participate in meetings with external parties in accordance with approved policy guidelines and mandate given to the Secretary General;
The BIMSTEC Secretariat shall comprise of the Secretary General, Directors and such other staff as may be required and approved by the Member States.
In performance of their duties, the Secretary General and the staff shall:
uphold the highest standards of integrity, efficiency and competence;
not seek or receive instructions from any government or from any other authority external to the Organization and government or external party outside of BIMSTEC; and
refrain from any action which might not commensurate with their respective position as BIMSTEC Secretariat officials.
The Secretary General and the Secretariat will not comply with any instruction from any individual Member State other than through BIMSTEC collective mechanism to maintain the exclusive character of the Secretary General and the Secretariat.
