In his debut speech at the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BMISTEC), President Mahinda Rajapaksa said “Sri Lanka wholeheartedly supports the BMISTEC Convention on Cooperation in Combating International Terrorism, Organized Crime and Illicit Drug Trafficking as an important and vital milestone in the efforts on counter terrorism.

Expressing his deep appreciation to the Prime Minister of India and the Government of India for the warm and gracious hospitality extended President Rajapaksa noted that poverty is an issue for not just some countries of the Group, but for a significant part of the world population.

President also highlighted the importance of achieving energy security.
The following is the full text of the President’s speech

Your Excellency, Dr. Manmohan Singh,

Excellencies,

Distinguished Delegates,

On this landmark occasion of the Second BIMSTEC Summit in New Delhi, I express my deep appreciation to His Excellency Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India and the Government of India for the warm and gracious hospitality extended to me and my delegation and for the excellent Summit arrangements. I felicitate His Excellency the Prime Minister of India on his unanimous election as Chairperson of BIMSTEC.

May I also take this opportunity to congratulate Your Excellency Dr Manmohan Singh, the Government and the people of India on your great achievement of launching the “Chandrayaan”. We, as South Asians take pride in this achievement.

I also take this opportunity to acknowledge the continuous and remarkable contribution made by the Government of Thailand, and for having played the role of sheet anchoring the absence of a permanent secretariat during all these years.

This is the first BIMSTEC Summit that I am attending as the President of Sri Lanka. I wish to reiterate my commitment to furthering the objectives of the Grouping. I propose that we meet bi-annually as originally envisaged.

Our Summit is taking place at a time when an international financial crisis, originating in Western capital markets, is sweeping across the world. While the BIMSTEC nations have constructively and prudently engaged in the process of globalization, nevertheless the economic challenges faced by many of our major trading partners, will inevitably have some impact on our own pace of growth.

The situation has therefore made all of us very much aware of the protection that regional self-reliance can afford, against global economic uncertainties. Our host India, with its vast capacity and economic potential can indeed serve as an engine, driving and guiding us to withstand the fallout of the global crisis while ushering prosperity for our region.

Mr. Chairman, Excellencies, distinguished delegates,

Poverty is an issue for not just some countries of our Group, but for a significant part of the world population. The recently concluded Ministerial Meeting on Cooperation in Poverty Alleviation, manifests the importance that BIMSTEC attaches to this subject. In addition, the fisheries and agriculture sectors which have great potential for poverty alleviation merit the strongest possible focus by BIMSTEC.

The alleviation of poverty forms one of the core objectives of my government. After three years of active implementation, a majority of the proposals contained in the’ Mahinda Chintana’ which is my election manifesto, have delivered many benefits to my people. A number of poverty alleviation programmes, both direct and indirect, indeed have proved to be success stories, and have empowered the rural people. Sri Lanka will continue to share her experiences in this field with the other Member States, while contributing whole-heartedly to the collective effort against poverty.

Mr. Chairman, Excellencies, distinguished delegates,

Achieving energy security has come to the forefront of the global agenda and has posed a tremendous challenge, particularly to developing countries. Oil prices have increased significantly since 2002, although there has been a decline in the prices in recent weeks.

Our efforts at developing alternate forms of energy such as solar, wind and bio-fuels for domestic consumption and for use by industry must remain paramount. However, we do not support the use of arable land to produce bio fuels to drive cars.

As the lead country for BIMSTEC cooperation in Technology, Sri Lanka urges that the highest priority should be assigned to the BIMSTEC initiatives for the establishment of the Energy Centre and the Trans Power Exchange and Development Project.

The promotion of trade among us is an important means for regional development and growth. The operationalization of the BIMSTEC Free Trade Agreement, has despite our best efforts been delayed. Nevertheless, we are all looking forward to the timely finalization of an Agreement that provides for all Members equitable benefits. We are pleased that Sri Lanka had been unanimously elected to continue as the Chair of the Trade Negotiating Committee.

Mr. Chairman, Excellencies, distinguished delegates,

It is in our collective interest to pursue initiatives to promote inter and intra-regional tourism. The move to establish a Tourism Information Centre and very importantly, a Tourism Fund is commendable. We should also seriously consider the joint marketing of the BIMSTEC region as one destination.

In this regard, I am pleased to announce that Sri Lanka looks forward to contributing to regional familiarization tour programmes, conducted with the collaboration of fellow Member States. Furthermore, the Sri Lanka Hotel School is ready to extend opportunities for nationals of member states to follow its internationally acclaimed training programmes.

The establishment of the Cultural Industries Observatory in Bhutan is a significant development. I am confident that such measures will contribute immensely to the development of the tourism industry in the region including in pilgrimage tourism.

Mr. Chairman, Excellencies, distinguished delegates,

Sri Lanka wholeheartedly supports the BIMSTEC Convention on Cooperation in Combating International Terrorism, Organized Crime and Illicit Drug Trafficking as an important and vital milestone in our efforts on counter terrorism.

Terrorist groups are able to sustain themselves by illegal fundraising, narcotics and people trafficking, money laundering using international networks, and arms and ammunition smuggling including through the sea routes in the Bay of Bengal. I urge you to consider setting up a mechanism to effectively police the seas of the Bay of Bengal, to deny these terrorists mobility and connectivity.

For over two decades, Sri Lanka has been facing a tremendous challenge to our democratic way of life through the barbaric actions of a terrorist group, the LTTE. There is no doubt that such groups have to be dealt with militarily. At the same time Sri Lanka believes that any underlying causes, exploited by the terrorists in an attempt to seek legitimacy for their operations, should be dealt with politically. I wish to assure this august gathering that we are firmly on the path to apolitical solution.

We welcome the consensus on establishing a Secretariat. This will give the necessary institutional strength. Sri Lanka is ready, in a spirit of commitment to the success of the BIMSTEC process, to host the Secretariat in Colombo.

Mr. Chairman, Excellencies, distinguished delegates,

By founding this grouping, we have united in a community of littoral and hinterland states of the Bay of Bengal. Through our efforts in BIMSTEC, we must resolutely ensure that our peoples would be the beneficiaries of a number of freedoms, including most importantly, freedom from the fear of terrorism and freedom from hunger and poverty. We owe them no less.

May the blessings of the Noble Triple Gem be with you.

Thank you.

Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) conference followed by the summit is scheduled to be held in New Delhi from the 11th to 13th of this month. The summit is held every three years.

The two day meeting will be attended by the leaders of the BIMSTEC states comprising Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

This year’s event is expected to focus on forging closer integration of the member countries that spread across South Asia and South East Asia. The specific areas expected to be covered include trade, counter-terrorism, trans-national crimes, tourism, fisheries and public health.

The leaders are also expected to review progress on the proposed Free Trade Agreement between BIMSTEC member states. The current trade amongst BIMSTEC countries is around USD 20 billion.

Member states of BIMSTEC, established in 1997, accounts for a $810 billion economy, shares about 22% of the world population and 3.64% of the earth’s surface area.

The last summit was held in Bangkok in 2004.

According to the Bangkok Declaration on the Establishment of BIST-EC, the aims and purposes of BIST-EC/BIMST-EC are to create an enabling environment for rapid economic development, accelerate social progress in the sub-region, promote active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest, provide assistance to each other in the form of training and research facilities, cooperate more effectively in joint efforts that are supportive of, and complementary to national development plans of member states, maintain close and beneficial cooperation with existing international and regional organizations, and cooperate in projects that can be dealt with most productively on a sub-regional basis and which make best use of available synergies.

Former political prisoner Mohamed Nasheed defeated the longest serving South Asian President, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in the nation’s first democratic presidential election, foreign media sources said today (29).

With almost 97.5 percent of votes counted, Nasheed, leader of the Maldivian Democratic Party, was ahead with 54 percent against 46 percent for Gayoom, making it impossible for the incumbent to win, the news agency reported.

Gayoom, Asia’s longest-serving leader, failed to win an outright victory in the first round of voting three weeks ago.

In power for 30 years, Gayoom, 71, helped transform the Indian Ocean republic from a fishing-based economy to a luxury tourism destination, AFP said. He banned radical Islamic clerics in the liberal Sunni Muslim nation and outlawed the all-covering dress and veil known as the burqa, according to the report.

Nasheed, 41, has pledged to privatize state trading enterprises and turn the presidential palace into a university, the news agency said. The Maldives, a group of 1,190 coral islands with a population of almost 386,000 people, is beset with corruption, a lack of housing and child malnutrition, AFP reported.

Courtesy: Government Information Department