Lyonpo Dr. Tandi Dorji, Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade participated in the BIMSTEC Ministerial Retreat hosted by the ...

[Link][Link]

Lyonpo Dr. Tandi Dorji, Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade participated in the BIMSTEC Ministerial Retreat hosted by the Royal Thai Government in Bangkok on 17 July 2023. The maiden retreat was organised by Thailand, the current Chair of BIMSTEC in order to have free and informal exchange of views among the Foreign/External Affairs Ministers for a prosperous, resilient and open BIMSTEC cooperation and to accomplish the shared goal of enhancing BIMSTEC cooperation.

The Foreign/External Ministers from the seven BIMSTEC Member Countries discussed ways of enhancing resiliency against economic, health, and disaster related emergencies, post Covid recovery and BIMSTEC's partnerships with external partners. Ministers agreed to meet as often and possible and to institutionalise the retreat process for enhanced engagement. The BIMSTEC Secretary General Mr. Tenzin Lekhphel also joined the retreat.

The Minister of Foreign/External Affairs paid a joint courtesy call on the Prime Minister of Thailand after the retreat session at the Government House, Bangkok.

BIMSTEC was established in 1997 with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration to promote regional cooperation in the areas of trade, investment, technological exchange and contribute towards peace, progress and prosperity in the region. Bhutan joined BIMSTEC in 2004.