Bangkok，February 3, 2023（AseanAll）—The 6th Meeting of BIMSTEC Permanent Working Committee was held in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, from February 1 to 2.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand,  Cherdchai Chaivaivid, Director General of the Department of International Economic Affairs of Thailand , chaired the 6th Meeting of BIMSTEC Permanent Working Committee (BPWC) to discuss the cooperation mechanism of BIMSTEC during 1 - 2 February 2023 in Bangkok.

The meeting successfully concluded four key documents including: (1) Rules of Procedure for Core BIMSTEC Mechanisms; (2) Rules of Procedure for BIMSTEC Sectoral Mechanisms; (3) Rules of Procedure for BIMSTEC’s External Relations and (4) Draft Terms of Reference for Eminent Persons’ Group on the Future Directions of BIMSTEC. These documents will guide the future direction for BIMSTEC while also setting the mechanism's standard operating procedures, resulting in a more streamlined and consistent organizational structure. The Meeting also discussed the importance of ensuring that BIMSTEC stays relevant, especially in the current context of post-pandemic economic recovery.

The BIMSTEC Permanent Working Committee Meeting is a core mechanism responsible for administrative and financial matters of the secretariat and preparation agenda for the BIMSTEC Senior Officials’ Meeting.

After assuming the BIMSTEC Chairmanship in March 2022, Thailand has already hosted two rounds of BIMTEC Permanent Working Committee meetings, producing many significant outcome documents which will be submitted to the 23rd Senior Officials’ Meeting and the 19th Ministerial Meeting in March 2023.

All Member States and the Secretariat have compliments to meetings hosted by Thailand which have fostered a spirit of cooperation within BIMSTEC.

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organization that was established on 06 June 1997 with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration. Initially known as BIST-EC (Bangladesh-India-Sri Lanka-Thailand Economic Cooperation), the organisation is now known as BIMSTEC and comprises seven Member States with the admission of Myanmar on 22 December 1997, and Bhutan and Nepal in February 2004.