BIMSTEC Secretary General Indra Mani Pandey called on Nepal Foreign Minister Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba during his visit. Photo: BIMSTEC

DHAKA, Jan 14, 2025 (BSS) –BIMSTEC Secretary General (SG) Indra Mani Pandey has visited Nepal last week and discussed on regional cooperation, visa matters and connectivity among the member states.
 
During his visit, the SG called on Nepal foreign minister Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba, who reiterated Kathmandu’s firm commitment to BIMSTEC and emphasized the importance of expanding cooperation in areas of high priority to Nepal such as tourism, energy, climate change and connectivity, including air connectivity.

Pandey expressed his appreciation for the role of Nepal in success of BIMSTEC, including the successful 4th BIMSTEC Summit, held in Kathmandu, in 2018, according to a press release issued here today.   

The SG also commended the Nepalese government for its leadership role in fostering regional cooperation in people-to-people contacts Sector, through tourism, culture, visa matters as well as the sub-sector of poverty alleviation.

The BIMSTEC SG called on Minister for Industry, Commerce, and Supplies Damodar Bhandari where he discussed the present state of cooperation in trade, investment and development sector as well as regional connectivity. 

In a separate call-on Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation minister Badri Pandey, the two sides discussed the opportunities for regional cooperation in areas such as tourism and culture and the need for enhancing connectivity to realise these goals within the BIMSTEC framework.

The SG called also on Foreign Secretary, Amrit Bahadur Rai, and reviewed with him the entire gamut of Nepal’s role and future contribution in success of BIMSTEC. 

He also called on Secretary for Culture Tourism and Civil Aviation, Ganesh Prasad Pandeya, and discussed with Nepal’s priorities for and role in expanding cooperation through BIMSTEC in the areas of culture, tourism and visa cooperation.

During his visit, SG participated in interactive dialogue on BIMSTEC organised by Policy Research Institute (PRI) and Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement (NIICE), where he shared his insights on regional cooperation and BIMSTEC's achievements, goals and challenges. 

The BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) is an international organisation of seven South Asian and Southeast Asian nations - Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.