Jaishankar to host BIMSTEC counterparts for retreat in Delhi

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will host his counterparts for the second BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in New Delhi on July 11-12.

The retreat will provide an opportunity for the foreign ministers of BIMSTEC nations to discuss avenues to broaden and deepen cooperation in various sectors, including security, connectivity, trade and investment, and people-to-people contacts in the Bay of Bengal region and its littoral, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) press release said.

The first edition of the BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers’ Retreat was held in Bangkok, Thailand, on July 17 last year.

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) brings together seven countries of South and Southeast Asia for multifaceted cooperation: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

Bhutan’s Foreign Minister DN Dhungyel and Myanmar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister U Than Swe arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday to attend the BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers’ Retreat.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that Dhungyel’s visit will further strengthen the close bonds of friendship and cooperation between India and Bhutan.

For India, the BIMSTEC regional forum acts as a convergence of its “neighbourhood first” policy, “act East” outlook, and the interests of the Indian ocean.