PM calls for BIMSTEC free trade agreement
Updated: Mar 04, 2014 02:40:04pm
New Delhi, Mar 4 (KNN) Emphasising the importance of regional economic arrangements, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today urged the BIMSTEC members for an early conclusion of a free trade agreement for trade in goods and extend it to investment and services.
“Trade and economic cooperation should figure high on our list of priorities. We should aim for an early conclusion of the BIMSTEC Free Trade Agreement for trade in goods and extend it to investment and services. Most of us here are connected with each other through one or more regional economic arrangements and it should not be difficult for us to conclude one for BIMSTEC,” said Singh at the 3rd BIMSTEC Summit in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.
Expressing his hope for BIMSTEC Energy Centre planned in Bengaluru, the prime minister said energy cooperation should be another area of priority for the seven countries grouping.
“As India and some of its neighbours are getting linked by energy grids, we are already experiencing the regional and national benefits of energy cooperation. We must, therefore, connect each other through transmission highways and gas and oil pipelines, while also examining opportunities for cooperation in renewable energy sources. I hope the BIMSTEC Energy Centre planned in Bengaluru will play a key role in this,” he said.
Singh said tourism, which is a powerful source of economic development and a bridge between peoples and cultures is another aspect of connectivity.
He also urged for cooperation in areas that are critical for development in each of the BIMSTEC countries, such as agriculture, rural development, public health, technology, human resource development and others. (KNN/ST)
“Trade and economic cooperation should figure high on our list of priorities. We should aim for an early conclusion of the BIMSTEC Free Trade Agreement for trade in goods and extend it to investment and services. Most of us here are connected with each other through one or more regional economic arrangements and it should not be difficult for us to conclude one for BIMSTEC,” said Singh at the 3rd BIMSTEC Summit in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.
Expressing his hope for BIMSTEC Energy Centre planned in Bengaluru, the prime minister said energy cooperation should be another area of priority for the seven countries grouping.
“As India and some of its neighbours are getting linked by energy grids, we are already experiencing the regional and national benefits of energy cooperation. We must, therefore, connect each other through transmission highways and gas and oil pipelines, while also examining opportunities for cooperation in renewable energy sources. I hope the BIMSTEC Energy Centre planned in Bengaluru will play a key role in this,” he said.
Singh said tourism, which is a powerful source of economic development and a bridge between peoples and cultures is another aspect of connectivity.
He also urged for cooperation in areas that are critical for development in each of the BIMSTEC countries, such as agriculture, rural development, public health, technology, human resource development and others. (KNN/ST)
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