Under the chairmanship of Sri Lanka, the BIMSTEC discussed ways to deepen cooperation among the member countries

India participated in the key meeting of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).

The regional grouping is made up of India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal. The grouping accounts for 22 per cent of the global population. Moreover, it has a combined GDP of US$2.8 trillion.

Vijay Thakur Singh, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs headed the Indian Delegation at the virtual meeting.

India has been pushing for making BIMSTEC a vibrant forum as various regional initiatives under the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) were not moving forward due to Pakistan’s non-cooperation. The report said that BIMSTEC, for India, is a natural choice to take forward key foreign policy priorities like ‘Neighbourhood First’ and ‘Act East’ as the bloc enjoys the strength of connecting South and Southeast Asia.

Under the chairmanship of Sri Lanka, the BIMSTEC discussed ways to deepen cooperation among the member countries, the report said.

The member countries highlighted a number of issues, including ways to boost cooperation in dealing with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.