Dhaka, April 3 -- The foreign ministers of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) member states have signed an agreement on maritime transport cooperation with the aim of expanding trade and travel in the Bay of Bengal.

The agreement was signed ahead of the 20th ministerial meeting of BIMSTEC, the seven-nation economic cooperation alliance in Thailand's Bangkok on Thursday.

Foreign Advisor Touhid Hossain, who led the Bangladesh delegation at the meeting, signed the accord on behalf of Dhaka.

The BIMSTEC Secretariat said, "The agreement aims at expanding maritime transport in the Bay of Bengal with a view to enhancing transport of cargo as well as people enabling more trade and travel am...