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SECRETARIAT BAY OF BENGAL INITIATIVE FOR MULTI-SECTORAL TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION DHAKA

Conference on BIMSTEC at its 20: Towards a Bay of Bengal Community Tuesday, 20 March 2018 BIMSTEC Secretariat, Dhaka Concept Note I. Introduction 01. The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organization comprising seven States of the Bay of Bengal region namely, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The organization was established through the adoption of Bangkok Declaration in June 1997 in order to promote cooperation in the areas of trade, investment, technological exchange and other interrelated areas and thereby contribute towards peace, progress and prosperity in the region. 02. In spite of the solid foundation of geographical contiguity and shared history and cultural ties, BIMSTEC has yet to make visible progress in advancing concrete cooperation among the Member States. Two recent developments, however, have generated renewed hope that BIMSTEC is poised to take off as a viable regional grouping. First, BIMSTEC established its permanent Secretariat in Dhaka in 2014. Second, BIMSTEC cooperation received new impetus from the Leaders’ Retreat held in Goa, India on 16 October 2016, wherein the BIMSTEC Leaders pledged to work collectively towards making BIMSTEC stronger, more effective, and result oriented. 03. As the BIMSTEC process enters the third decade of its existence, it is high time to take stock of BIMSTEC’s achievements and chart future course/direction of the organization. In order to hold free interaction with scholars, think-tanks, government officials, diplomats, business leaders and other stakeholders, the Secretariat will organize a one-day conference titled BIMSTEC at its 20: Towards a Bay of Bengal Community at the BIMSTEC Secretariat on 20 March 2018. II. Format of the conference 04. The one-day conference is expected to be inaugurated by His Excellency Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, Hon’ble Foreign Minister of Bangladesh. A high level segment has been envisaged at the inaugural session where Ministers/dignitaries from BIMSTEC Member States are being invited to deliver keynote address. In addition to the inaugural session, there will be four working sessions as follows:    

Session I: Role of connectivity in BIMSTEC integration Session II: Role of People-to-People Contact in BIMSTEC integration Session III: Security Cooperation in the Bay of Bengal region Session IV: Economic integration in the Bay of Bengal region House # N.W. (I)-6, Road # 53, Gulshan-2, Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh Telephone: +880-2-9890096, 9890098, Fax: +880-2-9887565 E-mail: [email protected], Website: www.bimstec.org

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05. Each panel discussion will be conducted in a DAVOS format. The Moderator will initiate discussion with the panelists (four/five members). Each panelist will make a presentation on a subject for 8-10 minutes. The remaining time of the session will be allocated for open discussion, questions and answers, and summing up by the moderator. III. Participants 06. Participants from government, diplomatic community, think tanks, academia, business and media are expected to attend the event. Attendance is by invitation only. IV. Expected outcome 07. The event will i) contribute towards improved understanding (awareness) about the potential of the BIMSTEC initiative as well as the challenges facing it currently, ii) provide practical ideas and thoughts towards developing the future work plan of the BIMSTEC Secretariat, and iii) give more visibility to the work of the BIMSTEC Secretariat. V. Contact 08. For invitation card or any other information, please contact: Mr. S M Nazmul Hasan, Director (EA), Tel: +8802- 988-7579, Email: [email protected]; [email protected].

House # N.W. (I)-6, Road # 53, Gulshan-2, Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh Telephone: +880-2-9890096, 9890098, Fax: +880-2-9887565 E-mail: [email protected], Website: www.bimstec.org

SECRETARIAT BAY OF BENGAL INITIATIVE FOR MULTI-SECTORAL TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION DHAKA

Conference on BIMSTEC at its 20: Towards a Bay of Bengal Community Tuesday 20 March 2018 BIMSTEC Secretariat, Dhaka Programme Time 0900-0930 hrs

Event Arrival of guests and registration

0930 – 1030hrs: Opening Ceremony 0930-0935 hrs Power point presentation on BIMSTEC 0935-0940 hrs Welcome Remarks by Ambassador M Shahidul Islam, Secretary General of BIMSTEC 0940-0945 hrs Address by Representative of Her Excellency Smt. Sushma Swaraj, Minister of External Affairs, Government of India 0945-0950 hrs Address by His Excellency Professor Dr. Chop Lal Bhusal, Ambassador of Nepal representing the BIMSTEC Chair 0950-1000 hrs Address by H E Mr. Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, MP, Hon’ble Foreign Minister 1000-1030hrs -Launching of the publication titled “BIMSTEC Energy Outlook 2030”, SARI/EI, India -Launching of the publication titled “Twenty Years of BIMSTEC: Promoting Regional Cooperation and Integration in the Bay of Bengal Region”, BIMSTEC Secretariat -Launching of the publication titled “ Bridging the Bay of Bengal: Towards a Stronger BIMSTEC”, Carnegie India, New Delhi, India -Photo session 1030-1100hrs Tea/Coffee Break 1100-1215 hrs: Working Session I – Role of connectivity in BIMSTEC integration Moderator: Dr. Sultan Hafeez Rahman, Executive Director, BRAC Institute of Governance and Development and former Director General, South Asia, ADB Presentations:   

Transport connectivity to comprehensive connectivity in the Bay of Bengal region - Dr. Prabir De, Professor, Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), New Delhi, India Digital connectivity in the Bay of Bengal region and beyond - Mr. Abu Saeed Khan, Senior Policy Fellow, LIRNEasia, Colombo, Sri Lanka BIMSTEC Grid Interconnection and regional energy trade - Dr. Ahmad Kaikaus, Secretary, Power Division, Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral

House # N.W. (I)-6, Road # 53, Gulshan-2, Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh Telephone: +880-2-9890096, 9890098, Fax: +880-2-9887565 E-mail: [email protected], Website: www.bimstec.org

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Resources, Government of Bangladesh Practical challenges in shipment: A regional perspective - Mr. Mahbub Anam, President, Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association

Open discussion and Q-A Conclusion by moderator 1215-1330 hrs: Working Session II - Role of people-to-people contact in BIMSTEC integration Moderator: Ambassador Muhammad Zamir, Chairman, Institute of Conflict, Law and Development Studies, Dhaka, Bangladesh Presentations:  

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What role BIMSTEC Network of Policy Think Tanks (BNPTT) can play to strengthen BIMSTEC Cooperation - Dr. Surat Horichailkul, Director, Indian Studies Centre of Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand Engaging Parliamentarians in advancing people-to-people contact in BIMSTEC – Ms. Mahjabeen Khaled, MP, Hon’ble Member of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh National Parliament Bangladesh National Parliament, and former President, Inter-Parliamentary Union(IPU) A realistic proposal for establishing network of BIMSTEC Universities – Dr. Manzoor Ahmed, Professor Emeritus, BRAC Institute of Educational Development, Bangladesh Role of media in promoting Bay of Bengal identity - Mr.Toufique Imrose Khalidi, Editor-inChief, bdnews24.com

Open discussion and Q- A Conclusion by Moderator 1330-1430 hrs

Lunch break

1430-1545 hrs: Working session III - Security cooperation in the Bay of Bengal region Moderator: Ambassador Munshi Faiz Ahmad, Chairman, Board of Governors, Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) Presentations:    

Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) in the Bay of Bengal region – Maj Gen A K M Abdur Rahman, Director General, Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) Urgency of regional cooperation to fight Drug Trafficking in the Bay of Bengal region – Mr. Sergey Kapinos, Representative, South Asia, UNODC, New Delhi Office, India Establishing effective mechanism for information and intelligence sharing – Brig Gen (retd) Shakhawat Hussain, Security Analyst, Bangladesh Developing the Bay of Bengal region as a common security space - Ms. Joyeeta Bhattacharjee, PhD, Senior Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, India

Open discussion and Q& A Conclusion by moderator 1545-1700hrs: Working Session IV - Economic Integration in the Bengal of Bengal region House # N.W. (I)-6, Road # 53, Gulshan-2, Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh Telephone: +880-2-9890096, 9890098, Fax: +880-2-9887565 E-mail: [email protected], Website: www.bimstec.org

Moderator: Professor Rehman Sobhan, Chairman, Centre for Policy Dialogue(CPD), Bangladesh    

Expectations of Business from BIMSTEC economic cooperation - Mr. Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, President, Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & Industry(FBCCI) Expediting tariff negotiations under the Framework Agreement for BIMSTEC Free Trade Area – Mr. Shubhashish Bose, Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Government of Bangladesh Trade facilitation measures to promote intra-regional trade in BIMSTEC – Dr. Ahsan H Mansur, Executive Director, Policy Research Institute(PRI), Bangladesh Development of regional value chains and production network in the Bay of Bengal region – Professor Mustafizur Rahman, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Policy Dialogue(CPD)

Open discussion and Q-A Conclusion by moderator 1700-1715 hrs

Tea/coffee break

1715-1800 hrs: Concluding session – Towards a Bay of Bengal Community

Special presentation:  Defining the Bay of Bengal Community – Ambassador Kobsak Chutikul, Secretary-General of the Asian Peace and Reconciliation Council, Thailand Special address:  His Excellency Harsh Vardhan Shringla, High Commissioner of India and Special Guest  His Excellency Dr. Gowher Rizvi, Hon’ble Adviser to Hon’ble Prime Minister on International Affairs, Prime Minister’s Office and Chief Guest  Closing remarks by Ambassador M Shahidul Islam, Secretary General of BIMSTEC

House # N.W. (I)-6, Road # 53, Gulshan-2, Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh Telephone: +880-2-9890096, 9890098, Fax: +880-2-9887565 E-mail: [email protected], Website: www.bimstec.org