♦ External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar chaired the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) informal Foreign Ministers’ meeting in New York on 28 September 2024.

♦ The meeting was held to prepare for the BIMSTEC Leaders’ Summit.

♦ Jaishankar highlighted that the meeting focused on improving physical, maritime, and digital connectivity across the region, along with exploring opportunities for capacity building, skill development, and improving people-to-people ties.

♦ He noted that the development of BIMSTEC Centres of Excellence is a collective resolve and that the meeting reaffirmed India’s commitment to wider engagement with BIMSTEC in line with Neighbourhood First, Vision SAGAR, and Act East Policy.