Sri Lanka is the Lead Member State for coordination of activities in the Science, Technology & Innovation Sector of BIMSTEC and the Technology, Health, and Human Resource Development Sub-sectors.

The establishment of the Science, Technology & Innovation Sector, and the Technology, Health, and Human Resource Development Sub-sectors were approved by the 5th Summit (Colombo – virtual – 30 March 2022) following a process of rationalization and reorganization of sectors of cooperation. 

Technology : 
As decided during the Seventeenth BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting (Colombo – virtual, 01 April 2021), an Expert Group on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Cooperation was established to pursue cooperation in the Technology sub-sector. The Expert Group held its First Meeting on 21 June 2023, virtually in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and the Meeting finalised the Plan of Action on STI for 2023-2024. 

BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility (TTF)

A key component of cooperation in the Technology sub-sector is the establishment of the BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility (TTF). Based on a decision taken at the Second BIMSTEC Summit (New Delhi, 13 November 2008) to establish a BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility (TTF) in Sri Lanka to further the transfer of technologies, particularly those appropriate for micro, small and medium sector, a BIMSTEC Expert Group on the Establishment of the BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility finalised the text of a Memorandum of Association (MoA) for the purpose.

The MoA on the Establishment of the BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility (TTF) was signed during the Fifth BIMSTEC Summit (2022), and currently awaits the completion of necessary formalities by Member States for entry into force. Once the MoA enters into force, the Governing Board of the TTF, comprising seven persons (with one member appointed by each Member State), will be vested with the overall activities of the TTF.

The TTF is envisaged to facilitate the transfer of technologies among the BIMSTEC Member States inter alia in the following priority areas which may be extended as agreed upon by the Member State: Biotechnology, Nanotechnology, Information and Communication Technology, Space technology applications, Agriculture technology, Food Processing technology, Pharmaceutical technology, Automation, New and renewable energy technology, Oceanography, Nuclear Technology Applications, E-waste and solid waste management technology, Health technologies, Technologies pertinent to Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation.

Health : 
As decided during the Seventeenth BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting (Colombo – virtual, 01 April 2021), an Expert Group on Public Health was established to examine the scope of collaboration in this sub-sector, and to develop a Plan of Action/ Work Programme. The First Meeting of the Expert Group was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 26-27 July 2023. The Meeting finalised the Plan of Action on Public Health 2023-2025.

Traditional Medicine 
The BIMSTEC Task Force on Traditional Medicine (BTFTM) comprising experts from all seven BIMSTEC Member States has held five meetings so far. The Task Force succeeds the previous mechanism that had coordinated BIMSTEC cooperation in traditional medicine – the BIMSTEC Network of National Centres on Coordination in Traditional Medicine (BNNCCTM). The BIMSTEC Task Force on Traditional Medicine focuses mainly on implementing activities based on the Plan of Action for Development of Traditional Medicine adopted in 2020. The Fifth Meeting of the Task Force was held in Nonthaburi, Thailand, on 26-28 June 2023.

o    Plan of Action for Development of Traditional Medicine
o    Traditional Medicine Systems of BIMSTEC Member States June 2023 (Exhibition version) 

Human Resource Development : 
As decided during the Seventeenth BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting (Colombo – virtual, 01 April 2021), an Expert Group on Human Resource Development has been established to examine the scope of collaboration in this sub-sector, and to develop a Plan of Action/ Work Programme