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The BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical & Economic Cooperation) Tourism Ministers’ Conference opened in Kolkata today with the call to pave greater cooperation among the member-nations in the area of tourism. Inaugurating the three-day meet, the Union Minister of State for Tourism, Smt. Renuka Chowdhury, called upon the members of the Initiative to garner resources to revive the Tourism sector following the 26th December, Tsunami tragedy.
India looks forward to collaborate and co-brand aggressive promotion and product diversification, which alone will enable the region to emerge as a major tourist destination for the world at large, Smt. Chowdhury asserted.
Underlying the untapped potential of the region’s tourism prospects, she said, tourism could bring the significant socio-economic development in the region if nurtured on rightly placed mutually beneficial, strategies. Calling upon the participating Tourism Ministers of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan, to exchange respective expertise in the field among the member-nations, Smt. Chowdhury assured all possible support on India’s behalf to further this joint cause.
The West Bengal Tourism Minister, Shri Dinesh Dakua, and senior representatives of Asian Development Bank also addressed the inaugural session. The Meet is being held in Kolkata as a follow up of the Bangkok round of deliberations held in July, 2004. Mr. Lyonpo Wangdi Norbu, Finance Minister of Bhutan, Shri Budhi Raj Bajracharya, Minister for Culture and Tourism, Nepal, Mr. Krirk-Kraj Jirapaet, Vice-Minister of Tourism, Thailand, Mr. Mir Md. Nasir Uddin, State Minister for Tourism, Bangladesh, Mr. Htay Aung, DG-Tourism, Myanmar and Mr. Mangla Moonesighe, the Sri Lankan Ambassador to India attended the opening ceremony.
The meet, being hosted by the Union Ministry of Tourism, is to deliberate on intra-region travel by road, combined Visa-norms and joint marketing of regional destinations.
NCJ/DT/rel-21feb-BIMSTECincalcutta
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