On 9 October 2015, H.E. Mr. Sumith Nakandala, Secretary-General of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi – Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and the BIMSTEC Network of Policy Think Tanks from 7 BIMSTEC member states including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand paid a courtesy call on H.E. Mr. Apichart Chinwanno, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to report on their progress made during the 2nd BIMSTEC Network of Policy Think Tanks Meeting (BNPTT) co-hosted by the Department of International Economic Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand and the Indian Studies Centre of Chulalongkorn University on 8-9 October 2015 at Anantara Siam Hotel.

The said meeting was an academic forum for the designated Think Tanks of BIMSTEC Member States to provide recommendations on how to advance concrete cooperation under the BIMSTEC framework and to enhance the visibility of this organization. The meeting agreed on a draft list of the collaborative activities such as joint research on important areas of cooperation, Youth Exchange Programs, BIMSTEC Heritage Sites, BIMSTEC Film and Food Festivals, BIMSTEC car rally and coffee table book containing the photographs depicting the socio-cultural aspects of the peoples in the Bay of Bengal Region.

The meeting agreed on three priority areas of cooperation that the BNPTT would focus for policy research during the year 2016 namely; People to People Contacts, Regional Value Chains and Regional Connectivity. Moreover, the meeting was of the view that “Branding of BIMSTEC” through social media, newspapers and web-based BIMSTEC Newsletter based on its uniqueness will enhance BIMSTEC visibility.