The Ministers took note of the recommendations of the Senior Trade/Economic Officials Meeting (STEOM) which had met on 26th April,2000. The Ministers accepted the recommendations of STEOM on the action agenda for economic co-operation and decided as follows:

The countries affected by the global financial crisis were now well on the road to recovery. It was important to push ahead the momentum of recovery through close economic cooperation between the member countries by taking advantage of the complimentarities that existed. The action agenda formulated by the STEOM should be implemented by all countries effectively and within agreed timeframes. The private sector in the Member Countries should be closely involved in the implementation of the action agenda.

The rapid changes in the global economic environment necessitated close cooperation and frequent consultations to facilitate appropriate responses and policy changes. It was agreed that the Ministers would hold regular consultations on various issues in the multilateral agenda, especially in the WTO. The Ministers stressed the importance of establishing a clear work programme to implement the shared vision for a Free Trade Arrangement in BIMST-EC region. The Ministers decided to constitute an Inter-Governmental Group consisting of Officials dealing with international trade to prepare a concept paper on possible approaches towards a preferential trading arrangement on the basis of inputs from all Member Countries within a period of 6 months for consideration of the Ministers.

Transport and communication issues are critical to the development of economic cooperation in the region. A cohesive and well coordinated approach to these issues is essential to ensure early implementation of the agreed projects. It was agreed that India would be the lead country for this sector and would convene a meeting of Experts to examine the feasibility as well as the funding option for early implementation of the BIMST-EC component of the Southern Corridors of the Trans Asian Railways and Asian Highways Projects.

Intellectual Property Rights are a major area of concern for developing countries. The Ministers emphasised the need for joint initiatives on the basis of the Phuket Action Agenda and the New Delhi Action Plan to intensify cooperation between the Member Countries and to enable sharing of experiences. Issues such as protection of indigenous knowledge and bio-diversity should be especially addressed in such initiatives. If necessary, such initiatives could be taken up in collaboration with WIPO.

Electronic commerce is another area at the forefront of technological change in international business. It is important that Member Countries keep abreast with developments in this area. It was agreed that India would be the focal point for possible initiatives in this area including the launch of E-BIMSTEC. India will prepare a concept note identifying the issues and potential for cooperation between Members Countries.

The Ministers agreed that their future meetings should be on an official basis and should be held once a year. The view of the majority was that the existing Ministerial meetings (of Foreign Ministers) could be combined with the meetings of the Trade/Economic Ministers. It was agreed to hold further consultations in this regard.

Status note on issues under discussion at WTO