BIMSTEC secretary-general to pay four-day visit to India next week

India has been making concerted efforts to make BIMSTEC a vibrant forum for regional cooperation as initiatives under SAARC were not moving forward for a variety of reasons

Tenzin Lekphell, the secretary general of the seven-nation grouping BIMSTEC, will pay a four-day visit to India beginning Monday to explore ways to take forward the bloc's cooperative agenda.

India has been making concerted efforts to make BIMSTEC a vibrant forum for regional cooperation as initiatives under SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) were not moving forward for a variety of reasons.

Announcing Lekphell's visit from August 22 to 25, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said he will hold discussions with senior Indian officials on how to take forward cooperation in sync with the mandate of its leaders.

Besides India, the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) comprises Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan.

At the 5th BIMSTEC Summit held in Sri Lanka on March 30, the leaders of the member nations adopted a charter and a connectivity roadmap to make the grouping a vibrant platform for regional cooperation.

The charter was aimed at transforming BIMSTEC into a full-fledged regional organisation with a "distinct international personality".

"India had stressed the importance of rapidly consolidating this newly created regional organization, and to moving BIMSTEC cooperation to the next level," the MEA said.

"Tenzin Lekphell will hold discussions with senior Indian officials on how to make the BIMSTEC organisation and cooperation forward in keeping with the mandate of the BIMSTEC leaders," the MEA said in a statement.

"India leads the Security cooperation pillar on the BIMSTEC platform that includes disaster management, marine cooperation and energy security, all of which are vital for the attainment of SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) targets in the region," it said.