PM Modi To Attend BIMSTEC Summit In Thailand On April 3, Then Meet President Dissanayake On Sri Lanka Tour

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Thailand from April 3-4 to participate in the 6th BIMSTEC Summit to be held on April 4 in Bangkok and an official visit. 

The sixth edition of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) will be hosted by the current BIMSTEC Chair, Thailand. The organisation comprises of seven member nations which are dependent on Bay of Bengal and includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. 

This will be the first time when the BIMSTEC leaders will meet physically since the last summit which was held in Kathmandu in 2018. The 5th BIMSTEC Summit was held in Colombo in March 2022 in virtual mode.

During the visit, PM Modi will hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. The two leaders are expected to review bilateral cooperation and chart the way for future partnership between the countries, said the Ministry of External Affairs in a press release. 

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PM Modi’s Sri Lanka Visit 

From Thailand, Modi will visit Sri Lanka from April 4- April 6 at the invitation of President Anura Kumara Disanayaka.

During the visit, Modi will hold discussions with Dissanayake to review progress made on the areas of cooperation agreed upon in the Joint Vision for “Fostering Partnerships for a Shared Future” adopted during the latter’s State Visit to India, the MEA stated in the press release.

PM Modi will also meet with senior dignitaries and political leaders and will travel to Anuradhapura for inauguration of development projects implemented with Indian financial assistance.

Dissanayake visited India on December 15 last year and the two leaders discussed maritime security cooperation. The Sri Lankan President assured New Delhi that his country’s territory would not be used against India’s security interests as they held wide-ranging discussions.