KATHMANDU April 10: The third Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) concluded in Kathmandu under the chairmanship of Nepal's Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development, Ramnath Adhikari. The ministers issued a joint statement based on the draft prepared during the preceding senior officials' meeting and formally endorsed it on Wednesday.
Ministers from India and Bhutan attended the meeting in person, while their counterparts from Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka joined virtually. They discussed ways to strengthen regional cooperation in agriculture, livestock, and fisheries and addressed major agricultural challenges facing the region.
While chairing the meeting, Minister Adhikari called for stronger collaboration among BIMSTEC member states to boost agricultural development. He pointed out how climate change and the growing use of pesticides have intensified challenges in the region and stressed the need for collective action.
BIMSTEC Meet concludes
The ministers reviewed the progress in implementing the action plan for agricultural cooperation and evaluated ongoing programs across member countries. They also explored future goals and strategic plans for the sector.
According to the joint statement, the member states agreed to establish a regional food reserve and seed bank and promote regional agricultural trade. They also pledged to prioritize capacity building in agriculture.
India presented proposals to establish a BIMSTEC Center of Excellence for agricultural innovation and to develop digital public infrastructure for agricultural advancement. The ministers approved a new action plan for collaboration in livestock and fisheries and discussed potential activities aligned with agricultural development plans.
They also discussed Nepal's upcoming Mountain Agriculture Technology Workshop scheduled for June 2025 and the proposed establishment of a Climate-Smart Agriculture Center in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is committed to hosting the fourth BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and the senior officials' meeting in 2027.
On the sidelines, Minister Adhikari held separate bilateral meetings with India's Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Bhutan's Agriculture Minister Lyonpo Yeshey Penjor. During the Nepal-Bhutan talks, both sides discussed shared interests such as organic farming research, technology development, climate-resilient farming systems, exchange of genetic resources in agriculture and livestock, and agricultural trade, according to the minister's secretariat.
