The 5th meeting of the Eminent Persons’ Group (EPG) on future directions of the BIMSTEC will be held on July 16-19 at the BIMSTEC Secretariat in Dhaka.

During the four-day meeting, the EPG will engage in discussions on implementation of the BIMSTEC Bangkok Vision 2030 and draft Report of the EPG on the Future Directions of BIMSTEC.

The EPG is committed to submit its report to the BIMSTEC leaders at their 6th Summit.

The meeting will be chaired by Dr Soonthorn Chaiyindeepum, member of the EPG from Thailand, which is the current Chair of the BIMSTEC.

The members of EPG from all BIMSTEC member States will join the meeting. The BIMSTEC Secretariat, led by Indra Mani Pandey, Secretary General, is organising the meeting and will be assisting the EPG in its deliberations, according to the BIMSTEC headquarters.

The EPG has been entrusted with the task of making recommendations to reform, revitalise and repurpose the BIMSTEC in order to enhance regional cooperation with a view to foster a prosperous, resilient and developed BIMSTEC region.

The establishment of the EPG signifies the commitment of the BIMSTEC member States to take necessary steps to foster and deepen regional cooperation to realise the goals of a secure, developed and prosperous Bay of Bengal region.

BIMSTEC comprises seven countries of the Bay of Bengal region: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

It pursues regional cooperation in the seven broad sectors: Agriculture and Food Security; Connectivity; Environment and Climate Change; People to People Contact; Science, Technology and Innovation; Security; and Trade, Investment and Development.

The cooperation also covers eight sub-sectors: Blue Economy, Mountain Economy, Energy, Disaster Management, Fisheries and Livestock, Poverty alleviation, Health and Human Resource Development.