The second Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) ministerial meeting on poverty alleviation today endorsed the regional Poverty Plan of Action (PPA) through the Kathmandu Statement.
They also pledged to incorporate the PPA in their respective plan and programme in fighting against poverty and and achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) within the stipulated time.
The PPA — that was drafted and proposed by Nepal after consulting with the representatives from the member countries — includes increased cooperation on technology transfer, capacity building, sharing of best practices, promotion of trade and tourism and improved transportation and communications among member countries.
The seven member sub regional bloc — consisting of five South Asian and two East Asian countries — also agreed on regular consultations among member countries on the issues of international trade and investment and increase human capital investment specifically targeted to the poor and the vulnerable groups.
The Poverty Plan of Action states to analyse trends of income, human development and non-income dimensions of poverty and human development, identify best practices and learn lessons for poverty reduction and suggest common areas of international cooperation to alleviate poverty in the BIMSTEC member states.
It has envisioned eight broad strategies including accelerated, pro-poor and inclusive growth, social development, implement targeted programmes for poor, increase coverage for social protection, increased preparedness to address adverse effects of climate change, disaster risk management, good governance and periodic progress review.
The meeting concluded that mutual cooperation in research and technology transfer in agriculture, easy access to markets for agricultural products, facilitating flow of plant and livestock breeding materials, testing and certification capacity building, encouraging flow of tourists through product development, promotional activities and improved connectivity, promoting trade through reduction of non-tariff barriers and shareing best practices could be areas of cooperation in the region to accelerate, pro-poor and inclusive growth.
Similarly, the meeting envisioned poverty mapping and identification of poor households, mobilising, organising and empowering poor through their own organisations, integrated package support programme through poor sensitive institutional support structure and increasing financial services to poor could help implement targeted programmes for poor.
The third BIMSTEC ministerial meeting on poverty alleviation will be held in Sri Lanka.
Earlier, in inaugural address in the morning, deputy prime minister and minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha highlighted the role of global fraternity for poverty alleviation.
"This century may well see economic power shift to Asia with new powers continuing to grow and making the presence felt in the global arena," he said, adding that the challenges of sustainable development, safeguarding the environment, stabilising global population, bridging the gulf between the rich and the poor and ending abject poverty from the region will take the forefront thus necessitating regional cooperation more than even before.
Speaking on behalf of delegates minister for National Planning and Economic Development of Myanmar U Tin Naing Thein underlined the need for all the member states of the sub-region to work together to reduce poverty which has been drawing global attention in the recent time.
He called for regional collaboration in the areas of agriculture, climate change, food security, tourism and transportation for the upliftment of people in the region.
Similarly, National Planning Commission (NPC) vice chair Deependra Bahadur Kshetry said that the Poverty Plan of Action, endorsed by the meeting, would help reduce poverty in the sub region through mutual efforts.
Vice chair of Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF) Janak Raj Joshi, in his vote of thanks, expressed the belief that the outcome of the meeting would pave the way for a meaningful impact on the lives of the poor and the marginalised communities of the region and reduce the ever widening gap between the rich and the poor.
The first BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting on Poverty Alleviation held in Dhaka in 2008 had decided to endorse the PPA at the second meeting, tasking Nepal with the responsibility to present the draft of PPA by incorporating necessary inputs from other member countries.
Minister of State for Rural Development (India) Sisir Adhikari; deputy minister for Economic Development (Sri Lanka) Muthu Shiva Lingam; Minister for National Planning and Economic Development (Myanmar) U Tin Naing Thein; Minister for Finance (Bhutan) Lyompo Wangdi Norbu; Minister for Planning ( Bangladesh) A K Khandker; deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior(Thailand) Vullop Phring Phong and Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun led their respective delegations to the meeting.
The guests also paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Dr Babu Ram Bhattarai in Singa Durbar this afternoon.
People below poverty line in BIMSTEC countries
Bangladesh — 40 per cent
Myanmar — 32.7 per cent
Nepal — 25.16 per cent
India — 25 per cent
Bhutan — 23.2 per cent
Sri Lanka — 23 per cent
Thailand — 9.6 per cent
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