Nepal reiterates commitment to BIMSTEC goals at virtual session

KATHMANDU: Acting Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai led a Nepali delegation to the 24th Session of the Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), held virtually from Bangkok on Thursday.

Paisan Rupanichkij, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Thailand and current BIMSTEC Chair, chaired the session, which was attended by foreign secretaries and other high officials of BIMSTEC member states, according to a press statement published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).

Acting Foreign Secretary Rai reiterated Nepal's firm commitment to the vision and objectives of the BIMSTEC Charter, highlighted key regional cooperation achievements, and shared the progress made in the People-to-People Contact Sector and its sub-sectors of Culture, Tourism, Poverty Alleviation, and People-to-People Contact Forums, of which Nepal is a lead country, according to the statement.

Rai also underscored the need to effectively implement existing legal instruments, work together for equitable climate financing, and enhance connectivity and institutionalisation processes within BIMSTEC.

The session considered various memoranda of understanding, reports, and plans of action on cooperation in agreed priority sectors and recommended these policy documents for endorsement by the next BIMSTEC ministerial meeting.

The session also addressed other preparatory work leading up to the Sixth BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok, Thailand.