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Bimstec office opens in Dhaka today

It's the first headquarters of an inter-governmental body here

Diplomatic Correspondent
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) is expected to get further momentum with the operationalisation of its secretariat in Dhaka today.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the first ever headquarters of any inter-governmental organisation in Bangladesh at 11:00am today.
The secretariat is located at House 6, Road 53, Gulshan-2.
Dhaka considers hosting the Bimstec permanent secretariat as an opportunity and that it will be an "important milestone" in the evolution of this regional group.
It will also enhance the image of Bangladesh globally, officials said.
Diplomatic sources hope that the secretariat would also enable the seven member states to focus on areas that are particularly critical for realising the Bimstec Vision of shared development through cooperation in 14 sector including trade and investment, communication, energy, technology, poverty alleviation, and counter-terrorism.
The member states aim for an early conclusion of the Bimstec FreeTrade Agreement.
The inaugural session will be addressed by Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, and Bimstec Secretary General Sumith Nakandala.
According to a press release of the foreign ministry, the prime minister will also unveil a commemorative stamp to mark the inauguration of the headquarters.
A special supplement will be published in the local dailies, which will contain messages from the heads of states or governments of the Bimstec countries.
BIST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand-Economic
Cooperation) was formed in June 1997. After the entry of Myanmar in December 1997, the organisation was renamed BIMST-EC.
It expanded further when Nepal and Bhutan joined the group in February 2004. The organisation was renamed Bimstec in July 2004.
In January 2011, the members decided to set up the permanent secretariat, and Dhaka was finalised as the location at the 3rd Bimstec Summit in Myanmar in March.