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DECLARATIONON
THE ESTABLISHMENT OFTHE BANGLADESH-INDIA-SRI LANKA-THAILANDECONOMIC
COOPERATION(BIST-EC)
BANGKOK
6 JUNE 1997
The
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, the Minister
of State of India, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of
Sri Lanka and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand,
acting on behalf of their respective Governments;
MINDFUL
of the existence of mutual interests and common concerns among
their countries and complementarities of their economies and
convinced of the potential for strengthening further the existing
bonds of friendship and cooperation;
DESIRING
to establish a firm foundation for common action to promote
sub-regional cooperation in the areas of trade, investment,
technological exchange and other interrelated areas in a spirit
of equality and partnership and thereby contribute towards peace,
progress and prosperity in their common region;
CONSCIOUS
that in an increasingly interdependent world, the cherished
ideals of peace, freedom, and economic well-being are best attained
by fostering greater understanding, good neighbourliness and
meaningful cooperation among countries of the same sub-region
already bound together by ties of history and culture;
CONSIDERING
that countries share a primary responsibility for strengthening
the economic and social stability of their sub-region and ensuring
peaceful and progressive national development;
DO
HEREBY DECLARE:
FIRST, the establishment of Bangladesh-India-Sri Lanka-Thailand
Economic Cooperation to be known as the BIST-EC.
SECOND, that the aims and purposes of the BIST-EC shall be:
1.
To create an enabling environment for rapid economic development
through identification and implementation of specific cooperation
projects in the sectors of trade, investment and industry, technology,
human resource development, tourism, agriculture, energy, and
infrastructure and transportation.
2.
To accelerate the economic growth and social progress in the
sub-region through joint endeavours in a spirit of equality
and partnership.
3.
To promote active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters
of common interest in the economic, social, technical and scientific
fields.
4.
To provide assistance to each other in the form of training
and research facilities in the educational, professional and
technical spheres.
5.
To cooperate more effectively in joint efforts that are supportive
of and complementary to national development plans of Member
States which result in tangible benefits to the people in raising
their living standards, including through generating employment
and improving transportation and communication infrastructure.
6.
To maintain close and beneficial cooperation with existing international
and regional organizations with similar aims and purposes.
7.
To cooperate in projects that can be dealt with most productively
on a sub-regional basis among the BIST-EC countries and that
make best use of available synergies.
THIRD,
the BIST-EC will observe the following principles in all its
activities:
(a)
Cooperation within the BIST-EC will be based on respect for
the principle of sovereign equality, territorial integrity,
political independence, non-interference in internal affairs,
peaceful co-existence and mutual benefit.
(b)
Cooperation within the BIST-EC will constitute an additionality
to and not be a substitute for bilateral, regional or multilateral
cooperation involving the Member States.
FOURTH,
that to carry out the aims and purposes of the BIST-EC, the
following institutional mechanisms shall be established:
(a)
Annual Ministerial Meetings, which shall be hosted by the Member
States on the basis of alphabetical rotation.
(b)
Senior Officials Committee, which shall meet on a regular basis
as and when required.
(c)
A Working Group, under the chairmanship of Thailand and having
as its members the accredited Ambassadors to Thailand, or their
representatives, of the other Member States, to carry on the
work in between Annual Ministerial Meetings.
(d)
Specialized task forces and other mechanisms as may be deemed
necessary by the senior Officials to be coordinated by Member
States as appropriate.
DONE
in Bangkok on the Sixth Day of June in the Year One Thousand
Nine Hundred and Ninety -Seven.
For
the People's Republic of Bangladesh
H.E.Mr. Abul Hasan Chowdhury
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs
For
the Republic of India
H.E.Mr.Saleem Iqbal Shervani
Minister of State
For
the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
The Honourable D.P. Wickremasinghe
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
For
The Kingdom of Thailand
H.E. Mr.Pitak Intrawityanunt
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
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