The Twentieth Session of the BIMSTEC Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 03 March 2020. The foreign secretary level meeting also approved the nomination of new secretary general from Bhutan. The 5th edition of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Summit 2020 to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in the month of September 2020. The 5th BIMSTEC Summit will be held in Sri Lanka. Read BIMSTEC-related topics from the links provided below: Holding a summit even if virtually in 2020 would reflect on the commitment to strengthen the organisation among all seven member states, Xavier said. Initially, the 5th BIMSTEC Summit was proposed to be held in early September 2020 and got postponed due to COVID-19 Pandemic. The scheduled meeting of the top leaders of the seven-nation regional group in Sri Lanka would have adopted a charter to help it move forward. The fate and the form of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation ( BIMSTEC) biennial summit in Sri Lanka is uncertain amid the Covid-19 pandemic. 5th BIMSTEC Summit in Jan Gautam Lahiri 6 September, 2020 12:00 AM New Delhi: The 5th BIMSTEC summit will be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in the first half of January 2021 subject to improvement in COVID-19 situation. There will be a lot to discuss regarding the economy and health than other areas of cooperation. Post rationalization of the different sectors of cooperation, it was decided that Sri Lanka will lead the country for Science, Technology and Innovation. The Sri Lanka delegation indicated its readiness to host the 5th BIMSTEC Summit preceded by the 17th Ministerial meeting, as it has earned the ‘Safe Travels’ stamp from the World Travel & Tourism Council in recognition of the comprehensive health and safety measures the government has put in place. “Unlike SAARC, which has remained stalled because of Pakistani obstructionism and Indian hesitations, BIMSTEC is driven by like-minded states that share a vision for regional connectivity and stronger economic links with the Bay of Bengal and ASEAN regions,” Xavier said. Earlier, the fifth BIMSTEC Summit and the Seventeenth BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting scheduled for September 3-4, 2020, in Colombo were postponed due to the … About BIMSTEC. ... 2020, 8:43 am. But BIMSTEC has been struggling to make much headway as five of its members—Nepal, India, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka—belong to SAARC while Thailand and Myanmar are part of the Association of South-East Asian Nations. Anil Giri is a reporter covering diplomacy, international relations and national politics for The Kathmandu Post. After India’s decision to pull out from the summit, other member states supported India's position and as a result the summit has been postponed indefinitely. The 5 th BIMSTEC Summit preceded by the 17 th BIMSTEC Ministerial meeting is proposed to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in the first half of January 2021 subject to the improved COVID situation. The Sri Lanka delegation indicated its readiness to host the 5th BIMSTEC Summit preceded by the 17th Ministerial meeting, as it has earned the ‘Safe Travels’ stamp from the World Travel & Tourism Council in recognition of the comprehensive health … The Summit, initially, was proposed for later this month, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was postponed. After the Summit in Sri Lanka, the chairmanship of the regional bloc will be handed over to Thailand for the period of 2021-22. Image. The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organisation of seven nations of South Asia and Southeast Asia, housing 1.5 billion people and having a combined gross domestic product of $3.5 trillion (2018). The 21st SOM and the 4th BPWC were held in preparation for the Fifth BIMSTEC Summit and the 17th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting to be hosted by Sri Lanka as the Chair. “It neither has a relevant charter nor vision documents,” said Pradhumna Shah, a former ambassador. The 5th BIMSTEC Summit that was scheduled to take place in December 2020 has been cancelled. The Summit proposed to be held in early September 2020 was postponed due to the pandemic. In the absence of a dedicated charter, BIMSTEC is running with the spirit of the Bangkok Declaration of 1997 and the charter is now in the final stage, which is expected to come out from the Colombo Summit. Member states agreed on Sri Lanka’s proposal to host the Summit and the ministerial level meeting next year, whose date will be confirmed later, Bairagi said. “We should reinvigorate SAARC,” said Shah, who had earlier worked as director of the SAARC Secretariat and used to look after SAARC and Bimstec while serving at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the meeting, Sri Lanka expressed readiness to host the 5th BIMSTEC Summit as well as the 17th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting in early January 2021. Amid Saarc’s apparent failure, regional grouping Bimstec is getting a big boost. It has not been able to hold its 19th summit since Nepal hosted the 18th one in 2014. Amid uncertainty regarding the summit, there have also been proposals to host the fifth summit virtually between September 10-15. Initially, the summit was proposed to be held in early September 2020, but was postponed due to the pandemic. BIMSTEC SECRETARIAT House No-N.W. The summit will be preceded by the 17th Ministerial Meeting and 21st Senior Officials Meeting by the end of 2020. The 5th edition of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Summit 2020 to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in the month of September 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic has further exposed the need for stronger regional cooperation, whether to combat a virus or access export markets and build new supply chains across the region, according to Xavier. (I)-06, Road No-53, Gulshan-02, Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh Email:communications@bimstec.org Tele : +880-2222290096-98 They Member States expect that it will soon start yielding results to fulfill the aspirations of the people of this region. The Summit … Hence, Sri Lanka will be conducting the fifth summit of the BIMSTEC and has become the new chair of the BIMSTEC. The 21st session of Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) took stock of progress made in various areas of cooperation under BIMSTEC, endorsed the appointment of next secretary general, finalised the draft of the BIMSTEC charter and the draft of the Memorandum of Association on the Establishment of BIMSTEC Centers/Entities, among others, according to a foreign ministry statement. Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Myanmar are the member states of BIMSTEC that is often touted as a parallel of another regional organization–South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation or SAARC. At Colombo, Sri Lanka. The two-day fourth meeting of the BIMSTEC permanent working committee for the spade work for the 21st senior official meeting on Wednesday began on Monday. “Bhutan has always been supportive of regional groupings like BIMSTEC as it is an opportunity to improve connectivity and trade and also look towards the Bay of Bengal and South East Asia,” Tenzing Lamsang, editor of The Bhutanese, a Thimphu-based newspaper, who follows regional geo-politics said. “While BIMSTEC needs to go a long way because it has just a body and lacks life, funding, regional sentiments and projects, among others, SAARC, on the other hand, has some funds being channelled through the SAARC Development Fund that has several big and small projects going.”. Giri has been working as a journalist for a decade-and-a-half, contributing to numerous national and international media outlets. “A dedicated charter is a must for strengthening the regional body but BIMSTEC has failed to come up with an agreed text in the last 23 years.”, “If India wants to revive its good ties with its neighbours, there is no alternative to reviving SAARC.”. The 5th Bimstec summit, preceded by the 17th Bimstec ministerial meeting, is proposed to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in the first half of January 2021, subject to the improved Covid-19 situation. Update- September 03, 2020, 02:32 AM The 5th BIMSTEC Summit, preceded by the 17th BIMSTEC Ministerial meeting, is proposed to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in the first half of January 2021 subject to the improved COVID situation. List of Important Summits A summit meeting (or just summit) is an international meeting of heads of state or government, usually with considerable media exposure, tight security, and a prearranged agenda. Up to the fourth summit held in Nepal in 2018, BIMSTEC has been working on a Bangkok Declaration adopted in Bangkok in 1997. The South Asia Economic focus had estimated that regional growth in South Asia will fall between 1.8 to 2.8 % in 2020. September 04, 2020; 5th Bimstec summit will be held in Sri Lanka in the first half of January 2021. The fate and the form of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation ( BIMSTEC) biennial summit in Sri Lanka is uncertain amid the COVID-19 pandemic. India has been pushing to make the regional body, formed in 1997, more relevant as an alternative to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). It is yet to agree on setting up various mechanisms while its secretariat has already been set up in Bangladesh. These meetings would have discussed the 14 areas of cooperation between the members. Despite the flurry of meetings, experts are divided over the evolution, development and future of the region body due to its sluggish progress. The Cabinet of Ministers approved a proposal made by Foreign Relations Minister Dinesh Gunawardane to accept the BIMSTEC convention at the fifth summit of the BIMSTEC scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka next year. The current Secretary General of BIMSTEC is Ambassador Mohammad Shahidul Islam of Bangladesh, who will be replaced by Tenzin Lekphell, a distinguished bureaucrat-turned politician from Bhutan from April next year. Sri Lanka, the current chair of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), has proposed to host the fifth summit of the regional grouping in the first half of January 2021, subject to the improved Covid-19 situation. More than two dozen BIMSTEC meetings between the seven member nations Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand planned for 2020 could not take place due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Giri has been working as a journalist for a decade-and-a-half, contributing to numerous national and international media outlets. Sri Lanka, the current chair of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), has proposed to host the fifth summit of the regional grouping in the first half of January 2021, subject to the improved Covid-19 situation. The 4th BIMSTEC Summit concluded in Kathmandu on August 31, 2018 with the signing and adoption of the Kathmandu Declaration by all the seven members. The summit will be preceded by the 17 th Ministerial Meeting and 21 … During the meeting, the senior officials proposed that the 5th BIMSTEC Summit preceded by the 17th BIMSTEC Ministerial meeting to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in the first half of January 2021 subject to the improved Covid-19 situation. Amid uncertainty regarding the summit, there have also been proposals to host the fifth summit virtually between September 10-15. More than two dozen BIMSTEC meetings between the seven member nations Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand planned for 2020 could not take place due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Confusion reigns as officialdom keeps changing entry protocols for tourists as peak season begins, Four people arrested for possessing 2.5 kg of what police say is radioactive material, No dissemination of pictures of others on Everest without permission, Supreme Court awards Nepal Communist Party to Rishiram Kattel, India introduces procedure that will allow Nepal to export power to it, Endless wait for Korea jobs frustrates youths as they question Nepal’s commitment, Oli tightens his grip in UML relieving leaders from Nepal camp of their roles, Rebuttal to international rights concerns draws flak, As Deuba gets nod to lead government, efforts on to build coalition to oust Oli, Potato farmers all smiles because of steady prices and strong demand. posted on Sep. 06, 2020 at 5:18 pm September 6, 2020 Amidst ongoing border standoff and escalating tensions between India and China, it is confirmed that the 5 th BIMSTEC summit will be held in January 2021. Initially, the 5 th BIMSTEC Summit was proposed to be held in early September 2020 and got postponed due to COVID-19 Pandemic. The BIMSTEC meeting led by foreign secretaries of the seven member member nations on Wednesday could finalise the form and dates for the virtual summit. Oli handed over the Chairmanship of the seven-member grouping to Sirisena at the end of the 4th BIMSTEC Summit here. BIMSTEC is a regional organisation comprising seven Member States lying in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal constituting a contiguous regional unity. But SAARC is facing its own existential crisis because of the long-standing rivalry between India and Pakistan. Officials said that besides finalizing the charter, the meeting of senior officials also recommended signing of the Convention on Cooperation on Criminal and Legal Matters among the member states during the Summit. These meetings would have discussed the 14 areas of cooperation between the members. Nowadays, international summits are the most common expression for global governance. 5th BIMSTEC Summit: Colombo, Sri lanka: BIMSTEC charter will be ready for adoption at its next biennial summit 2020 meeting scheduled to be held in Colombo this year (September). “Smaller states like Nepal always have more to gain from strong regional institutions, which both China and India are sometimes reluctant about,” he said. Pakistan was scheduled to host the 19th summit in November 2016 but, after an attack on Indian Army base in Jammu and Kashmir, India decided to withdraw from the summit accusing a cross-border terrorist outfit of carrying out the attack. The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organization comprising of seven member states in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The 5th summit was initially proposed to be held in September 2020, but due to Covid-19 pandemic, it was postponed. The Government of Sri Lanka had earlier proposed to host the 5th BIMSTEC Summit in Colombo on 04 September 2020, preceded by the 17th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting on 03 September 2020. Confusion reigns as officialdom keeps changing entry protocols for tourists as peak season begins, Four people arrested for possessing 2.5 kg of what police say is radioactive material, No dissemination of pictures of others on Everest without permission, Supreme Court awards Nepal Communist Party to Rishiram Kattel, India introduces procedure that will allow Nepal to export power to it, Endless wait for Korea jobs frustrates youths as they question Nepal’s commitment, Oli tightens his grip in UML relieving leaders from Nepal camp of their roles, Rebuttal to international rights concerns draws flak, As Deuba gets nod to lead government, efforts on to build coalition to oust Oli, Potato farmers all smiles because of steady prices and strong demand.