Lanka urges mapping of abundant mineral resources in Bay of Bengal region

Colombo: Sri Lanka's State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tharaka Balasuriya, who represented the island nation in the two-day 2nd BIMSTEC Ministerial Retreat hosted by India, has emphasised the need to have a mechanism to map mineral resources found in abundance within the countries of the Bay of Bengal region.

The Retreat, which ended on Friday and was attended by the Foreign Ministers of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) grouping nations, provided an informal platform to discuss ways and means of cooperating and accelerating action in security, connectivity, trade and investment within the Bay of Bengal.

"He (Balasuriya) further emphasised the importance of developing opportunities for the vertical integration of stages of production within specific sectors in the economies of the countries, enabling countries to diversify their production structure," the Lankan Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

He also referred to the initiative of Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry at the First BIMSTEC Retreat for the creation of an expert group on fiscal and monetary policy, and observed it would create a platform for the sharing of best practices within the region.

Along with India, Sri Lanka is a founding member of the seven-member BIMSTEC grouping which was established in June 1997.

The proposals put forward in the New Delhi meeting are expected to be submitted for consideration to the Heads of State at the upcoming 6th BIMSTEC Summit scheduled to be hosted by Thailand, the current chair of BIMSTEC, on September 4, later this year.

During his visit, Balasuriya also held a meeting with External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar and paid a joint courtesy call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.