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BIMSTEC Summit in Nepal: Narendra Modi to attend two-day meet, will inaugurate dharmashala at Pashupatinath
Why is it in news?
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) BIMSTEC Summit in Nepal on 30-31 August.
- It is the fourth BIMSTEC Summit whose theme is 'Towards a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable Bay of Bengal region'.
More in news
- Modi said on Wednesday that his participation in the BIMSTEC summit in Kathmandu signals India's highest priority to its neighbourhood and a strong commitment to continue deepening ties with the "extended neighbourhood" in South-East Asia.
- Modi said he and Oli will inaugurate the Nepal Bharat Maitri Dharmashala at the Pashupatinath temple complex.
- He said he will interact with all the leaders of BIMSTEC "to further enrich our regional cooperation, enhance our trade ties and advance our collective efforts to build a peaceful and prosperous Bay of Bengal region".
- The Summit theme, the PM said,will enable the member-countries to shape a collective response to their common aspirations and challenges.
- Nepal prime minister KP Sharma Oli said that the upcoming summit would be helpful in achieving sustainable development through poverty alleviation, facing climate change challenges and expanding road connectivity among member states.
- Though BIMSTEC has 14 priority sectors, the summit has integrated two more priority sectors - Blue Economy and Mountain Economy.
BIMSTEC
- BIMSTEC is a regional grouping comprising Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal.
- The first BIMSTEC summit was held in Thailand in 1997, second in 2008 in India and third in 2014 in Myanmar.
- Nepal has assumed the chairmanship of BIMSTEC since 2014.
- The grouping accounts for 22 percent of the global population, and has a combined gross domestic product of $2.8 trillion.
Source
Firstpost