New Delhi, Aug 5 (FN Agency) India is to host the First BIMSTEC Business Summit in New Delhi from Aug 6-8 to foster greater regional collaboration through robust trade and investment relations among member countries. The BIMSTEC – Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation – summit is being hosted by the Ministry of External Affairs in association with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The Business Summit will be inaugurated by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. Minister of Commerce and Industries Piyush Goyal and other leaders will deliver key note addresses. Several Ministers of BIMSTEC Member States from the ambit of Trade, Commerce and Industry, as well as Energy, along with high-ranking Government officials, policy makers, entrepreneurs and industry associations will participate in the event, a statement said.
The event will bring together more than 300 key stake holders 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.India attaches great importance to Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) which links five countries from South Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, India & Sri Lanka) and two from South-East Asia (Myanmar & Thailand), the statement added.The bloc comprises around 1.73 billion people with a combined GDP of USD 5.2 trillion, as per available data from 2023.