The 4th BIMSTEC Summit, held in Kathmandu, Nepal ended yesterday with signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on establishment of BIMSTEC Grid Interconnection.
Under the MoU, all BIMSTEC member states- Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan, and Nepal have agreed to enhance energy cooperation within the region.
The MoU was discussed and prepared during the 15th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting, which was convened in Kathmandu prior to the summit.
The meeting saw discussion on high potentials of energy sources in the BIMSTEC region, particularly the renewable and clean energy sources.
Therefore, all member countries concurred to accelerate efforts to develop a comprehensive plan for energy cooperation within the region.
The BIMSTEC Summit also adopted its summit declaration. This means member states have agreed to all the discussions and joint statements made during the high officials meeting and the ministerial meeting.
The current chair of the BIMSTEC, the Prime Minister of Nepal, KP Sharma Oli, handed over the chairmanship of the BIMSTEC to the Sri Lankan President, Maithripala Sirisena.
The two-day summit emphasised on connectivity, trade, investment, energy and tourism as key to economic integration.
The BIMSTEC stands for the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation.
It’s a regional organisation with member states based in South Asia. It was founded in 1997.
