ENGAGING PARLIAMENTARIANS IN ADVANCING PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE CONTACT IN BIMSTEC

As we are approaching 26 th of March ,our Indenpence day, I am remembering the greatest Bangalee of all time , Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman with due respect. I am also remembering all martyred freedom fighters, families who lost their near and dear one . Regional cooperation and integration is a buzz word in the present days. With the changing scenario in the geo-politics, the importance of Indo-pacific region is rising vividly. With Asia’s continuous growing impact on the global economy, regional cooperation and integration is expanding in this region as well. South and East Asia has engaged into various alliances such as South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Bangladesh-China-IndiaMyanmar (BCIM), Bangladesh-Bhutan-Nepal-India (BBNI) and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral, Technical, and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).

The growing importance of BIMSTEC is understandable by the history. The mother organization of BIMSTEC, the BISTEC was formed in June 1997. It was renamed as BIMSTEC when Myanmar joined it in December 1997. Later Nepal and Bhutan joined in 2004. The name of grouping was changed to Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation during first summit held in 2004. BIMSTEC is, therefore, a unique regional cooperation initiative in terms of geographical and natural resources such as sapphire, ruby, oil, gas and hydro power. Several economic and social complementarities of BIMSTEC countries make the initiative a prospective one, even though these countries are divergent in terms of economic, social and political development. With a young and energetic labour force — 6 out of 10 are aged 18–55 years — the future lies in BIMSTEC and the Bay of Bengal. Most importantly the region has a GDP of USD 2.7 trillion and a population size of 1.3 billion which potential is still untapped. . People to People Contact is prudently recognized as one of the 14 different fields of cooperation of BIMSTEC. Thailand is the lead country for this Sector. Being emphasized the importance of this sector in BIMSTEC Summit, Thailand took some initiative to improve People to People Contact in the region. As per the BIMSTEC official website the initiatives are: .

1st BIMSTEC Youth Football Competition in February 2004 in Phuket. 1

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Exploring BIMSTEC Cultural Ties in Thailand by a 3-day trip in 2005. BIMSTEC Young Ambassador Program, in 2005 and 2006.

. Getting to know the new BIMSTEC Member by a trip to Nepal and Bhutan was held in 2005. “BIMSTEC Week Exhibition: 10 Years of BIMSTEC Friendship and Cooperation” was held in June 2007 and BIMSTEC Exhibition was held in June 2008 in Thailand. We have noticed significant progress has been achieved by ASEAN in camparison to BIMSTEC in regards to People to people Contact. Development of People’s life is core reason of all these cooperation. Human history is the history of connecting with people. Sustainability of societies rests on movement of people from one place to another. The world today is more interlinked with the progress of society and expansion of economic activities. People are now inter-dependent for economic and social needs such as food, medicine, education and entertainment. People travel from one corner to another to fulfil their demands. . Though the potential of BIMSTEC will be tapped through trade, investment, infrastructural development, hard connectivity, etc, the importance of soft connectivity by establishing people to people contact is no less important. If one looks at the flow of people travelling from one country to another within the region, it is obvious that the flow has been continuous and increasing. Be it for health care, education, business, seminars and meetings or tourism. Trade and investment cannot take place without the service of people. Technology has made it easier but could not obsolete the need for physical presence. . Strong political commitment can play the most important role in enhancing people to people contact. . A better people to people contact can improve the political and security issues within the region as well. It can help reduce fear and suspicion among countries. It can be complementary to economic and political dialogues at the policy level that is necessary for economic, social and political transformation of the Bay of Bengal region. . Political commitment is the most important factor in increasing people to people contact. Therefore, leadership at all level in all the member countries are to be committed to establish it.

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irstly the Parliamentarians can play an important role in motivating people of different section to take initiatives at their end, being directly elected representatives of the people.

Parliamentarians can form bilateral friendship groups

Bilateral cooperation agreements between parliaments, can establish bilateral inter-parliamentary bodies to promote relations between the countries in question in various fields.

Institutionalised and regular encounters can be formed between parliamentarians from BIMSTEC countries, for example three times a year.

Receiving and sending parliamentary delegations, for example headed by the Speaker or undertaken at the committee level, allowing for encounters between a broader political representation than government visits

Parliamentarians can host meetings of inter-parliamentary organizations.

Sub-regional conferences with parliamentary committees from BIMSTEC countries concerning a concrete and joint project, for example devoted to infrastructure can be organised

Conflict resolution through the use of bilateral meetings or meetings of inter-parliamentary organisations, for example to ensure talks between parliamentarians from countries engaged in or otherwise affected by a conflict;

Work can be carried out by individual parliamentarians such as envoys to peace processes, those who take part in ad hoc working groups on a specific conflict, and electoral observers.

“Parliamentarians-protect-parliamentarians” project, in which members of parliamentarians in one country intervene on behalf of those in other countries whose parliamentary or human rights may be under threat. 3

Meetings can be arranged between parliamentarians and ambassadors. Technical cooperation (exchange of know-how) between parliaments.

At the end I would like to say that , we need to seriously relook how we can make BIMSTEC more effective and result oriented.Our sincere commitment can allow us to get the best out of BIMSTEC. As The Hon’ble Prime minister Sheikh Hasina said "It is now time to hasten the process of integration," at the BRICS-BIMSTEC Leaders’ outreach Summit in Goa India .

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