New BIMSTEC chief takes charge

by Our Correspondent in Dhaka

Mr. Tenjin Lekphell, a bureaucrat-turned politician from Bhutan, has joined as the new Secretary General of the seven-nation BIMSTEC, it was officially announced.

Shahriar Alam, State Minister for Foreign Affairs, welcomed Lekphell and wished him success in his new assignment. He said BIMSTEC can play a major role for the upliftment of economies of the member states.

Lekphell is the founder of Bhutan’s ruling Druk Nyamrup Tshongpa party and will be the first politician to serve the organisation.

He succeeds career diplomat Shahidul Islam who has taken charge as the Bangladesh ambassador to the US.

The Foreign Secretaries of the Dhaka-based Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), which comprising of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand,  during their meeting earlier this month recommended Lekphell the new chief of the organisation for a three-year term.

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