The Secretariat of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) celebrated its 11th anniversary. Foreign Ministry Secretary Asad Alam Siam was the chief guest at the event held in Dhaka on Monday (15 September 2025). Ambassadors and High Commissioners of BIMSTEC member countries, development partners, business, media, research institutions and academics, among others, were present at the event.
BIMSTEC Secretary General Indra Mani Pandey welcomed the guests at the event. He highlighted the Secretariat’s activities and the role of the Secretariat in enhancing consultation, coordination and cooperation among member countries over the past 11 years and expressed gratitude to the Government of Bangladesh for its continued support as the host country of the Secretariat.
In his speech as the chief guest, Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam highlighted the success of BIMSTEC in various sectors including connectivity, trade, energy, security, climate change, health and disaster management. He reiterated the commitment of the Bangladesh government as the current chair of BIMSTEC and sought the cooperation of all member countries in implementing the activities of the BIMSTEC Secretariat. Especially, as the lead country in the trade, investment and development sectors, Bangladesh called for the finalization and implementation of the BIMSTEC Free Trade Area (FTA) at the earliest.
It is worth noting that the BIMSTEC Secretariat was established in Dhaka as per the decision of the 3rd Summit held in Naypyidaw, Myanmar on September 13, 2014. The Secretariat monitors the implementation and progress of the decisions taken by the member countries and works towards building a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable Bay of Bengal region.
The seven member countries of BIMSTEC are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The organization’s regional cooperation activities include trade, investment and development, blue economy, environment and climate change, security, energy and disaster management, agriculture and food security, fisheries and animal husbandry, increasing people-to-people contacts, tourism, culture, poverty alleviation, visa-related issues, science and technology, health and human resource development, and increasing connectivity.
