H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, will join the Sixteenth Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Ministerial Meeting on 29 August 2018 to prepare for the 4th BIMSTEC Summit. The Meeting will discuss various issues including concrete implementation of BIMSTEC activities and projects, action plan for enhancing connectivity within and beyond, streamlining areas of cooperation, enhancing institutional capacity of the Secretariat, and possibility of the establishment of Bay of Bengal Development Fund.

 

During 30 – 31 August 2018, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will join the delegation of H.E. General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, to attend the 4th BIMSTEC Summit.

 

The Summit will be held under the theme “Towards a Peaceful, Prosperous and Sustainable Bay of Bengal Region”. The Leaders will adopt the 4th BIMSTEC Summit Declaration which will underline future direction of BIMSTEC and tangible results of the cooperation such as multi-dimensional connectivity, trade and investment promotion, science and technology cooperation, security cooperation, and people-to-people contact for the benefit of the peoples of BIMSTEC Member States. The Leaders will also witness the signing of agreements such as the Memorandum of Understanding for the Establishment of the BIMSTEC Grid Interconnection.

 

BIMSTEC comprises seven member states namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, and was initiated in 1997, with a vision to combine the “Look West” policy of Thailand and ASEAN and the “Look East” policy of South Asian countries for regional growth and prosperity.