“May our time-honoured links grow even stronger”: EAM Jaishankar’s warm wishes on BIMSTEC Day

India reiterates its commitment to achieve shared prosperity through a resilient and open BIMSTEC region, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday.

His remarks came, as he extended the wishes on the occasion of BIMSTEC Day.

“Warm wishes on BIMSTEC Day! India reiterates its commitment to achieve shared prosperity through a resilient and open BIMSTEC region.” Jaishankar posted on X, alongside a video.

“May our time-honoured links grow even stronger,” he said.

In February this year, BIMSTEC’s new Secretary General, Indra Mani Pandey, had said that an agreement on cooperation in maritime transport is expected to be finalised between member countries -Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand – at the grouping’s upcoming summit in Thailand this year.

The sixth BIMSTEC summit is scheduled to take place in 2024 in Thailand.

For India, the BIMSTEC regional forum acts as a convergence of its “Neighbourhood First” policy, or “Act East” outlook and the interests of the Indian Ocean.

BIMSTEC (The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) constitutes a unique link between South and Southeast Asian countries with five members from South Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka) and two members from Southeast Asia (Myanmar & Thailand).