The First BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture (1st BAMM) and the First BIMSTEC Senior Officials Meeting on Agriculture (1st SOM – A) organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation of Myanmar were held at Hilton Hotel in Nay Pyi Taw from 11 – 12 July 2019.
Representatives from BIMSTEC member states of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Thailand attended the Senior Officials Meeting on 11 July 2019 and the Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare of India including representatives of BIMSTEC members states attended the Ministerial Meetings on 12 July 2019. On behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL), Ambassador, Nandimithra Ekanayake preceded the Meetings accompanied by First Secretary, K.H.C. Sankapali to cooperate with the member countries.
At the Inaugural Session of the Ministerial Meeting, the Union Minister for Agricultural, Livestock and Irrigation of Myanmar, Dr. Aung Thu reiterated the decisions taken at the 4th BIMSTEC Summit held in Nepal, Kathmandu in August 2018 to work collaboratively with the BIMSTEC member countries on agricultural matters. He also emphasized that the agricultural focus is one of the 14 areas of BIMSTEC cooperation and this meeting focuses on promoting the lives of everyone in agricultural sector in the member states.
The Union Minister further explained that all member states have no equal development path and they all face similar challenges. He emphasized the need to work closely with the member states for sustainable development, eradicating poverty, implementing inclusive development and equal growth.
At the opening remarks, Ambassador M. Shadidul Islam, Secretary General of BIMSTEC pointed out the importance of enhancing current cooperation and future tasks on agriculture between the member states.
Speaking at the meeting, as the representative of the GoSL, Ambassador Nandimithra Ekanayake pointed out the long years of agricultural history and civilization of Sri Lanka in Asia and at present situation of Agricultural Production for domestic requirement, food security, the need to increase productivity and reduce post-harvest losses.
Further he added that Sri Lanka as a country gives high priority to the modernization and improvement of agriculture, and requested all member states to reaffirm the commitment to share, promote and utilize knowledge and expertise on agriculture in the region to formulate the food production with an aim to improve the living standards of our people.
As a part of the programme, the participants were taken to visit some places in Nay Pyi Taw including Gem Museum, Rice Processing Complex and Agricultural Research Department.
