BIMSTEC Secretary General, H.E. Indra Mani Pandey, visited Manila during 06-07 November 2025 to meet with President of Asian Development Bank (ADB) as well as other members of ADB’s senior management.

During his meeting with ADB President Mr. Masato Kanda, Secretary General highlighted the long-standing cooperation between BIMSTEC and ADB, and appreciated the support it has provided in developing BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport Connectivity, BIMSTEC Grid Interconnection Master Plan, BIMSTEC Transport Infrastructure and Logistics Study and various sectoral capacity-building programmes. The ADB President expressed his commitment to deepen ongoing cooperation and working together to identify additional avenues for expanding collaboration in future. He underlined the importance that ADB attaches to cooperation with regional organisations like BIMSTEC.

Secretary General also met with Mr. Yingming Yang, Vice President (South, Central and West Asia) and Ms. Fatima Yasmin, Vice President for Sectors and Themes. His discussions with them focused on ongoing cooperation within their respective regions, sectors and themes, with both Vice Presidents expressing their commitment to further enhancing cooperation under BIMSTEC in areas of shared interest. They underscored the convergence in agendas of BIMSTEC and ADB. Senior officials, including Director General and Deputy Director General of the concerned regions and sectors, were also present at the meeting.

Secretary General emphasised the need to scale up technical assistance grant and consider project-based collaboration. He underscored that the collaboration between BIMSTEC and ADB is crucial in advancing sustainable development, resilience and shared prosperity in the region.

Availing the opportunity of his presence in Manila, Secretary General paid a courtesy call on H.E. Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro, Foreign Secretary of the Republic of the Philippines. He briefed her on the state of regional cooperation under BIMSTEC and discussed ongoing engagements and future avenues of cooperation between BIMSTEC and ASEAN, particularly as the Philippines prepares to assume the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2026.

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 and Food Security; Connectivity; Environment and Climate Change; People-to-People Contact; Science, Technology and Innovation; Security; and Trade, Investment and Development. The cooperation also covers 8 sub-sectors: Blue Economy, Mountain Economy, Energy, Disaster Management, Fisheries and Livestock, Poverty Alleviation, Health, and Human Resource Development.  

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