BIMSTEC Secretary General in the capital

Kathmandu - Secretary-General of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Sumith Nakandala arrived here on Tuesday. Nakandala is here to attend the 18th session of the BIMSTEC Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) and the 15th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting scheduled in Kathmandu for August 10 and 11 respectively. 

Both the meetings will focus on various 14 areas of subject identified by the BIMSTEC concerning trade, investment, transport and communications, energy, tourism, agriculture, anti-terrorism, poverty alleviation, public health, environment and natural disasters and climate change, said Chief of the Regional Organisations Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mani Prasad Bhattarai. 

The meetings is also expected to finalise the date of the 4th BIMSTEC Summit, which Nepal is hosting later this year, as the current chair of the sub-regional grouping. The 3rd BIMSTEC Summit was held in Myanmar. 

Established 30 years ago, countries like Nepal, India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand are members. Its Secretariat is based in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. 

Meanwhile, during his four stay here, Nakandala is scheduled to pay a joint courtesy call on Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Krishna Bahadur Mahara. He is slated to return home to Sri Lanka on coming Saturday.