Mekong Institute (MI) participated in the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Business Summit 2024, held in New Delhi, India, from August 6 to 8, 2024. Organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, the summit focused on advancing multi-sectoral technical and economic cooperation among BIMSTEC member countries.

Representing MI, Mr. Madhurjya Kumar Dutta, Director of the Trade and Investment Facilitation Department, participated in a plenary session on “Strengthening Cooperation in the Services Sector Among BIMSTEC Countries,” with a focus on tourism, IT-enabled services, education, and healthcare. Mr. Dutta highlighted the need for collaboration to advance circuit and adventure tourism, digital services, and skills development. He also stressed the importance of sustainable management practices to enhance tourist experiences, sharing best practices on public-private partnerships and encouraging the exchange of experiences among BIMSTEC member countries.

The summit convened over 400 key stakeholders, including government officials, business leaders, think tanks, research institutions, and industry experts, to explore strategies for enhancing trade integration and fostering a facilitative business environment across the BIMSTEC region.

BIMSTEC is a regional organization established on June 6, 1997, with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration. Originally known as BIST-EC (Bangladesh-India-Sri Lanka-Thailand Economic Cooperation), the organization expanded to include Myanmar on December 22, 1997, and Bhutan and Nepal in February 2004. BIMSTEC now comprises seven member states, working together to foster regional economic and technical collaboration. (Source: www.bimstec.org)