The Hindu Business Line : BIMSTEC enlarges scope beyond economy, trade

LEADERS of the seven-nation BIMST-EC not only renamed themselves at the summit meeting here today but also enlarged their scope beyond trade and economy.

Terrorism was an issue all leaders seemed spontaneously to draft into their discussions and it also found play in the joint declaration at the end of the summit.

The member-countries agreed to set up a joint working group on counter-terrorism, and pledged not to allow use of their territory by terrorists to launch attacks on friendly Governments.

The name of the grouping, which came to be known by the initials of the first set of five-member countries, will now stand for Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation. Bhutan and Nepal joined the group recently. The member-countries agreed to expedite talks on free trade area, coordinate in tourism sector and promote sustainable use of marine resources in the Bay of Bengal.

The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, explained that security and the state of law and order were a pre-requisite to sustaining economic development. "We need to deal jointly with the menace of terrorism," he said.

The question of revising the terms of the Open Skies Policy for flights to Asian countries would be examined by the Cabinet soon, he said. At a press conference later, Dr Singh said the Thailand and Singapore Governments had drawn his attention to the fact that the terms that now allow overseas airlines to fly more often into designated airports were not flexible enough. He said he had promised them that he would to look into issue.

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