BIMSTEC Summit to begin in Nepal today

The fourth Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, BIMSTEC Summit will begin in Nepal today. Top leaders of the member states including Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the two-day event. He has left for Nepal this morning to attend the Summit in Kathmandu. 

Mr Modi has expressed confidence that the BIMSTEC Summit will chart the course for building a peaceful and prosperous Bay of Bengal Region and will further consolidate the progress made so far under the BIMSTEC. In his departure statement, Mr Modi said, during the Summit, he will have interactions with all the leaders of the BIMSTEC to further enrich the regional cooperation, enhance the trade ties and advance the collective efforts to build a peaceful and prosperous Bay of Bengal region.

Nepal Prime Minister K.P.Sharma Oli has said that august gathering of the BIMSTEC leaders will give a collective impetus to achieving peace, sustainable



development and prosperity in the region. The summit will focus on core economic areas to make BIMSTEC more effective and result-oriented. AIR correspondent reports that a MoU on establishing BIMSTEC Grid Interconnection will also be signed during the summit.

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi is having a very busy schedule in Nepal. After reaching Kathmandu, he will call on the President of Nepal, Bidya Devi Bhandari alongwith other leaders of BIMSTEC and attend a luncheon hosted by the President Bhandari. 

Later the Prime Minister will participate in the 4th BIMSTEC Summit and address the inaugural session. On the sidelines of the summit, PM Modi will have bilateral meetings with the President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina. In the evening he will attend a banquet hosted by the Prime Minister of Nepal K.P.Sharma Oli in the honour of BIMSTEC leaders.