S Jaishankar participates in BIMSTEC meeting in Bangkok; discusses ways to strengthen 'resilience and coordination' among members

Bangkok: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday held a productive discussion with his counterparts from the BIMSTEC region and the leaders focused on strengthening "resilience and coordination" among them with the common objective to enhance growth and promote prosperity.

Established in 1997, the BIMSTEC is an economic and technical initiative which brings together the countries of the Bay of Bengal for multifaceted cooperation.

The retreat would discuss ways to further deepen the BIMSTEC agenda and strengthen the organisation.

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional grouping that comprises India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan.

The seven countries are home to 1.73 billion people and have a combined gross domestic product of more than USD 4 trillion.

"Just concluded a productive BIMSTEC Retreat in Bangkok. An open and forward-looking discussion among colleagues. Focused on strengthening resilience and coordination among BIMSTEC members, reflecting the challenges that we all confront today. Explored new facets and activities to enter new areas of cooperation," Jaishankar tweeted.

Just concluded a productive BIMSTEC Retreat in Bangkok. An open and forward looking discussion among colleagues.

Focused on strengthening resilience and coordination among BIMSTEC members, reflecting the challenges that we all confront today. Explored new facets and activities… pic.twitter.com/ZWKdZTAT0z

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) July 17, 2023

"Food, health and energy security are common concerns. Technology solutions can be subject for both collaboration and exchange of best practices. Our common objective is to enhance growth and promote prosperity. Agreed to meet more frequently to take these ideas further," he tweeted.

On July 6, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Secretary East Saurabh Kumar, and Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen in Dhaka discussed various issues related to the Dhaka-based BIMSTEC grouping ahead of the grouping’s ministerial retreat.

Dhaka is set to be the new chair of the seven-nation grouping in December when India is scheduled to be its secretary general after the BIMSTEC summit to be held in Thailand on November 30.

Jaishankar is on a six-day visit to two nations that began on July 12.

In Jakarta, he attended the Foreign Ministers’ Meetings under the ASEAN framework, ASEAN-India, East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum on July 13-14.

From Indonesia, he travelled to Bangkok to participate in the 12th Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC) Mechanism on July 16.

MGC is one of the oldest mechanisms of the lower Mekong region and is guided by India’s Act East Policy.

The MGC is an initiative by India, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam to facilitate closer connections between the six member countries which share the Ganga River and Mekong River basins.