Press Release

The Twenty Third Session of the BIMSTEC Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) was held on 8 March 2023. The Bhutanese delegation was led by Officiating Foreign Secretary Tshoki Choden. The meeting was hosted virtually by the Government of Thailand, as the chair of BIMSTEC.

The 23rd SOM was held in preparation for the 19th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting to be held virtually on 9 March 2023 and the 6th BIMSTEC Summit to be held in November this year. During the meeting, among other important matters, member countries reviewed the progress of work since the 5th BIMSTEC Summit, reported progress in respective sectors, adopted reports on the core mechanisms of the organization and discussed administrative and financial matters.

As the lead country for the environmental and climate change sector, the Officiating Foreign Secretary reported the progress in the sector, welcomed the Master Plan Study to realize the full potential of the region’s energy resources and highlighted the importance of investing in digital infrastructure and connectivity, among others.

BIMSTEC is an inter-governmental organization comprising seven countries from the Bay of Bengal region. It was established on 6 June 1997 with the objective of creating an enabling environment for rapid economic development and accelerating social progress. Bhutan became a member of BIMSTEC in 2004.