NEW DELHI: India has conveyed to Thailand that PM Modi will travel to the country for the Bimstec summit on April 3-4, said official sources on Monday. Apart from India and Thailand, the inter-regional Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation includes as member states Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan and its summit is held biennially.
For India, as the SAARC summit process remains stalled, Bimstec provides an important platform for promoting regional cooperation, connectivity and security. The last summit, held virtually by Sri Lanka in 2022, saw the adoption and signing of the Bimstec Charter, which formalised the grouping into an organization made up of member states that are littoral to, and dependent upon, the Bay of Bengal.
This year’s summit will see Bangladesh taking over as the Chair from Thailand. It will also be followed closely for a likely meeting between Modi and Bangladesh chief adviser Muhammad Yunus. It will be the first meeting between the leaders after the latter took charge of the country in Aug last year, following the deposition of former PM Hasina.
The 2022 summit also saw progress in the Bimstec connectivity agenda with the adoption of the ‘Master Plan for Transport Connectivity’.