FROM NEPITO: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Tuesday urged the BIMSTEC leaders to fulfill their pledge in building the region as a secure, stable and prosperous area to ensure dignity and peace for people.

The Premier, in her speech, said, initiatives could be taken to remove poverty through BIMSTEC forum.

Myanmar president Thein Sein welcomed the leaders of BIMSTEC and the formalities of inauguration were done at 8:30am.

After the inauguration of the summit, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina delivered her speech first.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina spoke about Bangladesh’s achievement in reducing rate of poverty stricken people from 40 to 26 percent during the last five years.

She proposed setting up of a ‘Poverty Reduction Center’ for BIMSTEC in Dhaka.

In her speech, the premier also hoped that Bangladesh would be free from poverty by 2021.

Besides, Sheikh Hasina talked about sustainable energy development program.

In the conference Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse and Sihasak Phuangketkeow, permanent secretary and special envoy to Thai prime minister joined in the summit.

Sheikh Hasina reached Myanmar on Monday morning to attend the 3rd BIMSTEC Summit to be held in its capital city Nay Pyi Taw on March 4.  

A special flight of Bangladesh Biman, national carrier of the country, carrying the premier with 32-member delegation landed Nay Pyi Taw around 10:15am (Myanmar local time).

U Aye Myint, Minister of Labor, Employment and Social Security, welcomed her at Nay Pyi Taw International Airport.

Memorandum of Association (MoA) on the Establishment of BIMSTEC Permanent Secretariat in Dhaka, Memorandum of Association (MoA) on the Establishment of BIMSTEC Centre for Weather and Climate in India and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the BIMSTEC Culture Industries Commission and BIMSTEC Cultural Industries Observatory to be set up in Bhutan are expected to be signed during the summit.

The premier is scheduled to return home on Tuesday night.

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organization involving a group of countries, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal, was formed in 1997.

BDST: 1310 HRS, MAR 04, 2014