Dr Yunus next BIMSTEC chairman

The next chairman of BIMSTEC is Professor Muhammad Yunus, the chief adviser to the interim government of Bangladesh.

This information was revealed by Special Envoy of the chief adviser Dr Khalilur Rahman at a press briefing held at the Foreign Service Academy on Bailey Road in the capital on Wednesday (April 2).

The chief adviser is going to Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, tomorrow, Thursday (April 3) to attend the sixth summit of BIMSTEC.

Dr Khalilur Rahman said that he may meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He said the chief adviser is the next chairman of BIMSTEC. Therefore, discussions are needed with the heads of all countries on the next steps.

The chief adviser will attend the Youth Conference on the first day of the BIMSTEC summit. He will address the conference the next day. He will also meet with the heads of state of various countries on the sidelines. Three memorandums of understanding and agreements are expected to be signed at the summit.

The briefing was also attended by the Chief Advisor's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam and Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumdar.

BIMSTEC is the abbreviation of 'Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral, Technical and Economic Cooperation'. It is a regional alliance consisting of several countries in South and Southeast Asia.

On June 6, 1997, a new inter-regional alliance was created at a meeting of the foreign ministers of Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand in Bangkok and the alliance was named after the initials of the countries of the main negotiators participating in the meeting.