Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi underscored the need for taking strong measures to make a head way in the identified areas of cooperation, including trade and connectivity. The Foreign Secretary called for taking concerted efforts to make BIMSTEC a robust regional organization by way of widening and deepening the cooperation among the Member States.

He expressed the views while making an assessment of the progress made by the BIMSTEC, especially after the 4th Summit held in Kathmandu in 2018

The 21stSession of Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM)of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) held today through video conferencing. Foreign Secretary Bairagi led the Nepali delegation to the 21st SOM Session.

The 21st Session of SOM took stock of progress made in various areas of cooperation under BIMSTEC, endorsed the appointment of next Secretary General, finalized the draft of the BIIMSTEC Charter, finalized the draft of the Memorandum of Association on the Establishment of BIMSTEC Centers/Entities, among other. The meeting has also discussed on the Sri Lanka’s proposal of holding the 17th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting and Summit in 2021.

The Meeting was organized by Sri Lanka, the current chair of BIMSTEC. The Meeting was preceded by the 4th Meeting of BIMSTEC Permanent Working Committee (BPWC) which washeld on 31 August 2020 through video conferencing.

The 22nd Meeting of the Senior Officials' Meeting will be held in Thailand in March 2021. The meeting prepared for the BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting to be held some time in early 2021.