The 25th Session of Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) was held today in Bangkok, Thailand. It will be followed by a Meeting of BIMSTEC Freign or External Affairs Ministers on 03 April and 6th BIMSTEC Summit of the Heads of State/Governments of the member States on 04 April.

Following are the key outcomes of 25th SOM:

• Finalization of the Draft Declaration of 6th BIMSTEC Summit, outlining vision, decisions and directives of the Leaders, to be adopted at the Summit;
• Finalization of the Draft Report of 20th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting, which the Foreign Ministers will consider and adopt at the 20th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting;
• Consideration of the Report of Eminent Persons Group on the Future Direction of BIMSTEC, which includes recommendations to reform and revitalize BIMSTEC. The Report will be reviewed by the 20th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting and BIMSTEC Leaders at the Summit;
• Consideration of the Reports of the Meetings held since the 24th Session of BIMSTEC SOM, including the meetings of the BIMSTEC Permanent Working Committee;
• Consideration of the Report of Panel of Auditors for Financial Year( 2014-2015);
• Consideration of the Draft Concept Note on BIMSTEC Centre of Excellence on Tropical Medicine, which will serve as a framework for establishing the BIMSTEC Centre for Excellence on Topical Medicine in Bangkok, Thailand; and
• Consideration of the draft Joint Statement by the BIMSTEC Leaders on the Impact of the Earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand on 28 March 2025, underscoring early establishment of BIMSTEC Centre of Excellence in Disaster Management in India. The draft Joint Statement will be considered by the 25th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting and adopted at the Summit.

The BIMSTEC SOM is the key consultative and decision-making mechanism and it comprises Foreign Secretaries/Secretaries/appropriate Senior Officials of the member States. The Leaders of the Delegations of the member States expressed their deep appreciation to the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand for successfully hosting the 25th SOM, paving the way for the upcoming 20th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting and the 6th BIMSTEC Summit. They briefed the Meeting on the steps taken by them in forging cooperation particularly in Sectors they lead.

BIMSTEC comprises seven countries of the Bay of Bengal region: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. It pursues regional cooperation in 7 broad sectors: Agriculture & Food Security; Connectivity; Environment & Climate Change; People-to-People Contact; Science, Technology & Innovation; Security; and Trade, Investment & Development. The cooperation also covers 8 sub-sectors: Blue Economy, Mountain Economy, Energy, Disaster Management, Fisheries & Livestock, Poverty Alleviation, Health, and Human Resource Development.

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