Bhutan is taking the lead in strengthening cultural cooperation amongst the BIMSTEC region with the establishment of the BIMSTEC Cultural Industries Office (BCIO) in Thimphu. The office will serve as a hub for promoting cultural industries, reducing poverty, strengthening regional development, and preserving the region’s rich cultural heritage. With this, the country fulfils the commitment made at the Paro Initiative in 2006.
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organization which aims to promote economic cooperation, trade, connectivity, and security among its seven members.
At the 3rd BIMSTEC Summit in Myanmar in 2014, leaders signed a Memorandum of Understanding to set up the BIMSTEC Cultural Industries Commission (BCIC) and the BIMSTEC Cultural Industries Office (BCIO).
Today, the Second BIMSTEC Cultural Industries Commission Meeting was held, officially marking the start of the BIMSTEC Cultural Industries Office.
“With the establishment of BCIO, it can be served as a platform for the seven member states to enhance cooperation and collaboration to promote and preserve the culture of the BIMSTEC member states. It is also to get a wider public access across the region and beyond the region,” said BIMSTEC Secretariat Sithu Aung.
The office will act as a cultural observatory, creating a BIMSTEC cultural database and supporting research on poverty reduction and community development.
Additionally, it will assist member states in organizing cultural expositions and securing project-based funding.
“We have been preparing for this for over the past five years, and now, on behalf of the Royal Government of Bhutan, we have established the BIMSTEC Cultural Industry Observatory within the premises of the Department of Culture and Dzongkha Development. We have invested in setting up all the necessary institutional infrastructure to ensure the observatory operates with immediate effect,” said Nagtsho Dorji, the Director of Department of Culture and Dzongkha Development, MoHA.
According to BIMSTEC, the functioning of the cultural office will be looked after by the culture department for now since it has yet to appoint a director for its office.
Kinley Bidha
Edited by Sangay Chezom
