Foreign Secretaries Meet to Discuss Fourth BIMSTEC Plans

As Nepal gears up for the 4^th BIMSTEC Summit, it will be arranging a Foreign Secretary-level meeting to plan for the ‘bigger event’! The Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, a Bay of Bengal initiative, is scheduled for August 11, 2018.

Nepal Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi will lead the meeting, which will be attended by all BIMSTEC member countries foreign secretaries— Nepal, India, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand, Bhutan and Sri Lanka.

According to Nepal Foreign Affairs Ministry (MoFA) Assistant Spokesperson Ram Babu Dhakal, this ‘plan-of-action’ meeting will discuss the following matters:

1. All areas of preparation for BIMSTEC Summit
2. Nepal government’s views on taking forward the regional integration initiative
3. Member countries’ VIPs and VVIPs discussion agendas and their outcomes
4. Other Issues including poverty alleviation, climate change and cross-border crime

BIMSTEC to Promote Regional Cooperation:
Gyawali is eagerly looking forward to this meeting as it presents an opportunity to discuss connectivity through road, railways, and power grid network.

The BIMSTEC summit will also play a key role in establishing regional cooperation between SAARC and Southeast Asian Nations’, as the seven countries from both regions are members of BIMSTEC.

Additional Preparations for the Upcoming Summit:
Nepal MoFA says that the preparations are under full swing and official invitations have been sent to all member countries heads and their governments.

As part of the preparations, Nepal has formed several committees including a steering committee led by Nepal PM, KP Sharma Oli and preparation & co-ordination committee lead by Nepal Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali.

Conclusion:
Nepal became a BIMSTEC member in 2004, after its formation in 1997.  We hope that the Fourth BIMSTEC Summit will drive the desired regional cooperation and encourage the development of member countries with each other’s support.