The Expert Group constituted to conduct a systematic review of research on traditional medicine used in COVID-19 and Diabetes, as per the BIMSTEC Plan of Action on Development of Traditional Medicine, held a virtual meeting on 13 February 2024.

During the Meeting, the Experts from the BIMSTEC member States held detailed discussions on research methodologies for conducting systematic reviews of research on traditional medicine used in COVID-19 and Diabetes, and decided that they would work together to prepare, register, and publish Protocols for this purpose, in scientific journals. It was also decided that individual member States would publish their completed systematic reviews of research in scientific journals. India and Sri Lanka serve as the lead countries for this activity relating to the systematic reviews of research in COVID-19 and Diabetes respectively.