Sri Lanka has called for an in-person BIMSTEC Summit, however, the date is yet to be decided.
It will be the fifth summit of the grouping whenever it takes place. BIMSTEC or Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation has seven members – India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand and Sri Lanka. The grouping is more than 20 years old and was formed in 1997. The last summit took place in Kathmandu in 2018 with PM Modi and other member leaders attending the meet. Sri Lanka is the chair of the grouping and had earlier proposed holding a virtual summit on December 9, which has now been postponed. It had earlier proposed a summit in August.
It is the second time Colombo had to post the summit, the reason for which has not been given. In April, the BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers meet had taken place virtually during which the agenda for the leaders’ summit was taken up. On the agenda at the summit will be the approval of the BIMSTEC Charter, BIMSTEC master plan for transport connectivity and BIMSTEC convention on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters. – WION
by Daily News Sri Lanka
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