Kathmandu, July 16 : Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Prakash Saud left for Thailand today to attend the BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers’ Retreat scheduled to be held on 17 July 2023 in Bangkok.According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a delegation led by Minister Saud departed on a Thai Airways airplane bound for the capital of Thailand.

While in Bangkok, the BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers’ Retreat will focus on discussing pertinent cooperation agendas under BIMSTEC.During the visit, Minister Saud is set to pay a courtesy call on Prayut Chan-o-Cha, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, in a scheduled joint meeting for visiting BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers in the afternoon of 17 July 2023.

Additionally, the Foreign Minister will engage with counterparts from the BIMSTEC region to address matters of common interests. Notably, Nepal holds the lead in promoting people-to-people contacts within the BIMSTEC region. Apart from the Retreat, Minister Saud will also hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from the BIMSTEC Member States on the sidelines of the event. The Foreign Minister is expected to return to Kathmandu on 18 July 2023.

BIMSTEC, short for the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, is a regional organization established on 6 June 1997 with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration. Over the years, the organization has expanded to include seven Member States, with the admission of Myanmar on 22 December 1997, and Bhutan and Nepal in February 2004.