Kathmandu, Dec. 28
Meaningful affiliation with the regional organisations will
be helpful for Nepal to face the challenges it is facing as a landlocked and an
underdeveloped country, said Minister for Foreign Affairs NP Saud.
Speaking at a programme organised by the Policy Research
Institute (PRI) on the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral
Technical and Economic Cooperation) on Thursday in Kathmandu, he stated that
Nepal's foreign policy is to promote national interests through the regional
forums.
The PRI organised the programme upon the request of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"Accordingly, Nepal has been active in enhancing mutual
cooperation in the economic, social and cultural fields by means of organisations
in the Asia region such as the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
(SAARC), BIMSTEC and Asian Cooperation Dialogue," said FM Saud, adding
that Nepal has been giving importance to the BIMSTEC region which connects the
countries of South Asia and South East Asia.
It's been 26 years since the establishment of the BIMSTEC.
During the initial stage, the forum was used as a movement of cooperation in the
areas of mutual interest of the member countries, said FM Saud.
The legal, institutional and policy structures are in the
process of being prepared after the discussions held during the fourth summit
of BIMSTEC held in Kathmandu in 2018.
The areas of BIMSTEC cooperation have been restructured into
seven sectors of cooperation, with each member country taking a leading role in
one area. Out of the restructured areas like trade and investment, agriculture,
tourism, climate change, security, science and technology, people-to-people
relations, Nepal is leading the people-to-people relations sector.
FM Saud said that he participated in the BIMSTEC Foreign
Ministerial Retreat held in Bangkok, Thailand in July this year. On that occasion, the foreign
ministers of the seven BIMSTEC member countries collectively expressed their
commitment to develop BIMSTEC as a strong organisation.
"In order to further strengthen and institutionalize
BIMSTEC, an Eminent Persons' Group (EPG) of nine eminent persons has been
formed to offer suggestions regarding the course of action to be taken by the
BIMSTEC in the future to make cooperation and collaboration more
effective," he said.
The suggestions of the EPG are expected to make BIMSTEC more
dynamic, result-oriented and effective.
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