Foreign Ministers from BIMSTEC member countries met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed ways to strengthen regional cooperation.
These ministers are in New Delhi for a two-day retreat meeting (July 11-12) to bolster cooperation among Bay of Bengal countries.
The areas of cooperation cover connectivity, energy, trade, health, agriculture, science, security and people-to-people exchanges.
PM Modi conveyed full support to Thailand for a successful BIMSTEC Summit.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Union Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs, Pabitra Margherita, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval also attended the meeting.
In a post on X, PM Modi stated, “Glad to meet BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers. Discussed ways to strengthen regional cooperation, including connectivity, energy, trade, health, agriculture, science, security and people-to-people exchanges. Conveyed full support to Thailand for a successful Summit.”
BIMSTEC is a regional organisation comprising seven member states – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
In 2019, India had invited BIMSTEC leaders and heads of State from Kyrgyzstan and Mauritius, for Modi’s swearing in ceremony.
On Thursday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar welcomed colleagues for the second Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Foreign Ministers’ Retreat.
In his opening remarks at the BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers’ Retreat, Jaishankar said, “For India, BIMSTEC represents the intersection of its ‘Neighbourhood First’ outlook, the ‘Act East Policy’ and the ‘SAGAR’ vision.”
He added, ”Each of these endeavours is being purposed with a specific focus on the Bay of Bengal, where collaborative potential has long remained under realised.”
The External Affairs Minister said, “Our message should be clear – that we are all determined to infuse new energies, new resources and a new commitment into cooperation among the Bay of Bengal nations.”
Jaishankar noted, “The BIMSTEC Charter, for a start, has come into effect from 20 May this year. Global and regional developments also make it imperative that we find more solutions amongst ourselves.”
Jaishankar expressed optimism about the outcomes, stating, “Our hope is that these would be expressed as shared and ambitious BIMSTEC Vision.”
The first edition of the BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers’ Retreat was held in Bangkok in Thailand on July 17, 2023.
