Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the 5th BIMSTEC Summit, which will be held virtually, on March 30. Sri Lanka, the current BIMSTEC chair, is hosting the summit.
Meetings of BIMSTEC Senior Officials (SOM) were held on March 28 to prepare for the Summit, followed by meetings of BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers (BMM) on March 29. The group's leaders are also anticipated to talk about establishing basic institutional structures and methods.
"The challenges posed by the Covid epidemic, as well as the uncertainty that all BIMSTEC members face in the international system, make the goal of advancing BIMSTEC technological and economic cooperation even more urgent. This is expected to be the key topic of discussion among Summit leaders "In a news release, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated.
"Thank you FM Prof GL Peiris for the outstanding arrangements," said External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar, who wrapped up a "constructive and pleasant" BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting on Monday.
Jaishankar attended the 18th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting in Colombo, where he underscored the grouping's resolve to enhance and extend cooperation in sectors such as connectivity, energy, and maritime links.
What exactly is BIMSTEC?
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional multilateral organisation made up of seven member states that form a contiguous regional unity along the Bay of Bengal's coastline and nearby areas. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Thailand are among the members.