PM Modi At BIMSTEC | At BIMSTEC Summit, India’s Northeast And Bay Of Bengal Region In Focus

Prime Minister Modi is in Bangkok for the 6th BIMSTEC Summit and the Prime Minister in his departure statement said, “Over the past decade, BIMSTEC has emerged as a significant forum for promoting regional development, connectivity and economic progress in the Bay of Bengal region. With its geographical location, India’s Northeastern region lies at the heart of BIMSTEC. I look forward to meeting the leaders of the BIMSTEC countries and engaging productively to further strengthen our collaboration with interest of our people in mind. With the recent comments from Bangladesh over India’s Northeast, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar delivered a sharp rebuttal to Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, days after the latter described India's Northeast as "landlocked" and positioned Bangladesh as the "guardian of ocean access" for the region. Mr Jaishankar highlighted India's strategic role in the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), putting the spotlight on the country's 6,500-km coastline and its geographical linkages with five BIMSTEC members.