Connecting chords of strengthening ties, PM Modi will attend the BIMSTEC summit on August 30

NewsBharati    27-Aug-2018
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New Delhi, August 27: Reclining the memorable relationship between India and Nepal, taking it further Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the BIMSTEC summit in Nepal. This is the fourth time since he assumed office to attend the summit of seven-member Bay of Bengal grouping that would see the countries firming up their connectivity and security cooperation.

 

Briefing the media about the summit, MEA Spokesperson Preeti Saran informed that PM Modi will attend the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit in Kathmandu on August 30 and 31, and will hold discussions with other leaders who are attending the summit.

As a founding member of BIMSTEC, India remains committed to deepening cooperation within BIMSTEC and India regards BIMSTEC as a gateway to the seas of the liberal state as well as access to the landlocked member countries i.e. Bhutan and Nepal.

Prime Minister Modi is expected to open a 400-bed ‘dharamshala’ built with Indian assistance on the Pashupatinath temple premises in Kathmandu during the trip. 

The two-decade-old regional grouping is coming of late with the leaders agreeing to focus on key issues that front them collectively in a concerted manner. For New Delhi, the sub-regional grouping helps in pushing its regional connectivity plans with the SAARC (South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation) grouping is faltering.

Preeti Saran, Secretary East in the external affairs ministry said, “The connectivity is an important aspect of the cooperation of the grouping. This includes physical connectivity, grid connectivity, and increasing the people to people contacts.” The grouping is expected to agree too many measures including the protocol for a coastal shipping agreement. Saran said security cooperation dealing with traditional and non-traditional threats would be a key focus area at the summit.

Preeti Saran also pointed out two landlocked countries in the grouping, Nepal and Bhutan would benefit from getting sea access. The BIMSTEC is a regional organisation comprising seven countries sitting in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal which makes them contiguous geographical entity.

The seven countries of the grouping are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Thailand. At the end of the summit, the member-countries would come out with a joint declaration covering various areas of cooperation including security, trade, environment, connectivity, counter-terrorism and non-traditional threats.

Saran further said the seven BIMSTEC nations have been discussing a Free trade area (FTA) agreement and also considering organizing tri-services joint exercises on disaster management and other such issues. The summit would be preceded by a meeting of senior officials from BIMSTEC countries on 28 August and another of foreign ministers the next day.

In the afternoon of August 30, the BIMSTEC inaugural plenary session will be held followed by gala dinner and a cultural program hosted by the government of Nepal. In the forenoon, there will a retreat and in the afternoon there will the closing session of the summit.