Kathmandu: BIMSTEC Secretary General (SG) Indra Mani Pandey visited Nepal last week and engaged in discussions on regional cooperation, visa matters, and connectivity among member states. During his visit, SG Pandey met with Nepal’s foreign minister, Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba, who emphasized Kathmandu’s commitment to BIMSTEC and highlighted the importance of expanding cooperation in key areas like tourism, energy, climate change, and connectivity, including air connectivity.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Pandey expressed appreciation for Nepal’s role in the success of BIMSTEC, including the successful 4th BIMSTEC Summit held in Kathmandu in 2018. He commended the Nepalese government for its leadership in fostering regional cooperation in sectors such as tourism, culture, and visa matters, as well as poverty alleviation.
SG Pandey also met with Minister for Industry, Commerce, and Supplies Damodar Bhandari to discuss cooperation in trade, investment, and development, focusing on regional connectivity. In a separate meeting with Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation Minister Badri Pandey, discussions centered on opportunities for regional cooperation in tourism and culture, emphasizing the need for enhanced connectivity within the BIMSTEC framework.
Additionally, SG Pandey reviewed Nepal’s role and future contributions to BIMSTEC’s success during a meeting with Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai. He also met with Secretary for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation Ganesh Prasad Pandeya to discuss Nepal’s priorities in expanding cooperation through BIMSTEC in culture, tourism, and visa cooperation.
During his visit, SG Pandey participated in an interactive dialogue on BIMSTEC organized by the Policy Research Institute (PRI) and the Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement (NIICE), where he shared insights on regional cooperation and BIMSTEC’s achievements, goals, and challenges. BIMSTEC is an international organization comprising seven South Asian and Southeast Asian nations: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.