The 4th meeting of the Eminent Persons’ Group (EPG) on future directions of the BIMSTEC will be held on June 25-27 at the BIMSTEC Secretariat in Dhaka.

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.

During the three-day long meeting, the EPG will engage in discussions on the current status of regional cooperation within the BIMSTEC in various sectors, said the regional organisation on Monday.

The EPG will hold interactions with the former Secretaries-Generals of BIMSTEC, members of the BIMSTEC Network of Policy Think Tanks (BNPTT) and representatives of trade and business organisations of the BIMSTEC member States.

The EPG has been entrusted with the task of making recommendations to reform, revitalise, and repurpose the BIMSTEC in order 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.

The EPG is committed to submitting its report to the BIMSTEC Leaders at the Sixth BIMSTEC Summit.

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 following seven sectors: Agriculture and Food Security; Connectivity; Environment and Climate Change; People to People Contact; Science, Technology and Innovation; Security; and Trade, Investment and Development.