Thailand is scheduled to host a retreat of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) foreign ministers on July 17 , to reinvigorate the 25-year-old intergovernmental organisation.
BIMSTEC’s Southern and Southeast Asian nations include Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. (Photo: Internet)
Bangkok (VNA) - Thailand is scheduled to host aretreat of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) foreign ministers on July 17 , to reinvigorate the 25-year-oldintergovernmental organisation.
꧅ As the current chair of the BIMSTEC, Thailand expects the retreat will create an opportunity to exchange views on regional issues as wellas ways to move the 25-year-old organisation forward.
BIMSTEC’s Southern and Southeast Asian nations includeBangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. At the last summit, conducted online with Sri Lanka as the previouschair, the status of BIMSTEC had been elevated to an intergovernmentalorganisation, which enhances its visibility and credibility at theinternational level. One of the priorities under the Thai chair is to implementthe BIMSTEC Master Plan on Transport Connectivity, proposed by Thailand back in2018. Now, as the new lead country in connectivity, Thailand can play an evermore prominent role in enhancing inter-regional connectivity. Furthermore, it will underpin Thailand’s role as abridge-builder, transport hub and business link between Southeast and SouthAsia and between the Indian and Pacific oceans. BIMSTEC is one of the largest intergovernmental cooperationframeworks worldwide in terms of population, size of economy and economicpotential. The region has a combined population of nearly 1.8 billion and acombined gross domestic product of 4.4 trillion USD in 2022. Given the current geopolitical shifts, the BIMSTEC regionhas more strategic, economic and commercial importance than at any time sinceits inception in 1997 in Bangkok./.
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BIMSTEC’s Southern and Southeast Asian nations include Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. (Photo: Internet) 
