Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba will be attending the 5th BIMSTEC Summit (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) in Sri Lanka, Foreign Ministry sources confirmed.
He is scheduled to attend the summit on March 30 in Colombo, Sri Lanka.The seven-nation BIMSTEC, comprising Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand was founded in 1997.
The much-awaited BIMSTEC or Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation will be hosted by Sri Lanka.
But it could also be conducted in a hybrid format sources said adding that Most of the member states have given a formal intimation over participation at the summit.
Indian Prime Minister Modi’s visit is still not confirmed as to whether he will participate virtually or travel to Sri Lanka for the summit.
Colombo Summit is expected approve the BIMSTEC Charter, BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport Connectivity and BIMSTEC Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters.
The group will also work towards finalisation of the BIMSTEC Coastal Shipping Agreement and the Motor Vehicles Agreement.
“The Prime Minister will attend the summit. This is a regional grouping and we would like to see more concrete work,” Prakash Sharan Mahat, ruling Nepali Congress Spokesperson told WION.
“Through BIMSTEC not much is happening. Earlier on the basis of the principles, many agreements were reached between the countries. But in reality, in terms of a regional corporation not much has happened. So, we would like to see it’s working in concrete terms,” he added.
Earlier in January, Secretary-General of BIMSTEC H.E. Tenzin Lekphell, on his visit to Nepal, appreciated Nepal’s contribution in advancing the process of the organisation.
Lekphell had called on foreign minister Dr Narayan Khadka and stated that the fourth BIMSTEC Summit held in Kathmandu was an important milestone in streamlining the areas of cooperation and institutional strengthening of the organisation.
Expressing Nepal’s commitment to contribute constructively to help BIMSTEC make further advances, Khadka underlined the need for the fifth summit to build on the progress made thus far and to provide significant breakthroughs towards realising the regional aspirations.
Among the seven members of the BIMSTEC, five are also members of the dysfunctional South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
