Jaishankar to inaugurate first BIMSTEC Business Summit in Delhi

Jaishankar to inaugurate first BIMSTEC Business Summit in Delhi

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will inaugurate the first BIMSTEC Business Summit here which aims to foster greater regional collaboration through robust trade and investment relations among the members of the seven-nation grouping.

The summit will be hosted by the Ministry of External Affairs in association with the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) from August 6-8, the MEA said in a statement on Monday.

The first edition of the Business Summit aims to foster greater regional collaboration through robust trade and investment relations among the member countries of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), it said.

It will be inaugurated by Jaishankar. Union Minister of Commerce and Industries Piyush Goyal and other leaders will deliver keynote addresses.

"Several ministers of the BIMSTEC member states from the ambit of trade, commerce and industry, as well as energy, along with high-ranking government officials, policymakers, entrepreneurs and industry associations will participate in the event," the MEA said.

The event will bring together more than 300 key stakeholders from across the Bay of Bengal region to facilitate economic collaboration and explore ways ahead in focus areas such as trade facilitation, regional connectivity, energy security, inclusive growth and sustainable development.

BIMSTEC brings together seven countries from South and Southeast Asia for multi-faceted cooperation.

India attaches great importance to BIMSTEC which links five countries from South Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, India and Sri Lanka) and two from Southeast Asia (Myanmar and Thailand), it said.

Jaishankar had hosted his counterparts from the BIMSTEC member countries at a two-day retreat in the national capital in July.

The retreat presented an opportunity for the foreign ministers to discuss avenues to deepen cooperation across various sectors including in the fields of security, connectivity and trade.