Fourth BIMSTEC Summit : Nepal All Set, Delegates Arriving In!

Nepal media is all abuzz with the upcoming BIMSTEC summit and their front pages clearly tell of their priority.

With less than 48 hours for the event, it seems that all logistics and managerial preparations have been taken care of.

K P Sharma Oli’s Media Interaction
PM Oli called for a meeting with major news media editors on August 28, 2018, to discuss regarding the BIMSTEC Summit. Newspapers have published front page articles of their meeting with PM Oli and have highlighted his statements.

In the course of his three-hour interaction with Nepali media, Nepal PM Oli told media to write ‘what they see’ but also pay attention to their articles so that people don’t look at them hopelessly.

Oli hinted that BIMSTEC could be an alternative to SAARC as the latter was not active as he had expected but retained that he preferred giving the required-push for SAARC.

A Meeting of Foreign Secretaries
BIMSTEC member states’ foreign secretaries will be meeting on August 29, 2018, ahead of the scheduled summit. Officials already arrived on August 28, 2018, and were warmly welcomed by Nepal Foreign Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi at the Tribhuvan International Airport.

First, of the six top dignitaries are arriving in Kathmandu today. Meanwhile, Myanmar President Win Myint will reach Nepal at 2:45 PM.

Dignitary Arrival Schedule:

Wednesday, August 28, 2018

• Sri Lankan President, Maithripala Sirisena
• Bhutan Chief Justice & Chief Advisor to the Interim Government, Tshering Wangchuk

Thursday, August 30, 2018

• Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi
• Bangladesh Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina Wazed
• Thailand Prime Minister, Prayut Chan-O-Cha

According to Nepal Foreign Affairs Ministry Deputy Chief of Protocol Ghanashyam Lamsal, either of the two Nepal Deputy Prime Ministers, Nepal Defense Minister Ishwor Pokhrel & Nepal Health and Population Minister Upendra Yadav will receive BIMSTEC member states’ heads and governments.

Agenda of the Meeting:

• Myanmar President Myint and Sri Lankan President Srisena will conduct bilateral discussions with Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli and will also meet President Bidya Devi Bhandari
• Similarly, Indian PM Narendra Modi will hold bilateral talks with Oli on August 31, 2018
• According to MoFA Assistant Spokesperson, Ram Babu Dhakal said, senior officials, will have the summit’s agenda finalized by the ministerial meeting
• This meeting will also bring to conclusion the Kathmandu declaration already agreed by member states
• A MoU will be signed at the Fourth BIMSTEC Summit for the establishment of BIMSTEC grid interconnection which will open doors for energy trade among member states
• Nepal and India will sign two MoUs for the Raxaul-Kathmandu link and the transportation of cargo between the two nations
• Nepal and Sri Lanka will sign a MoU on Cooperation between Nepal Institute of Foreign Affairs and Sri Lanka’s

Last but not the least, Nepal Army has been designated to oversee security preparations for the summit and have already begun patrol in Kathmandu.

Conclusion
With so many preparations and a good agenda at hand, the 4^th BIMSTEC Summit has a lot to look forward to. We hope that the member countries will hugely benefit from the decisions of this summit that has so much in the interest of its people.