5th BIMSTEC Summit to take place in March this year
The 5th Summit of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is likely to take place in March this year.
Tenzin Lekphell, Secretary-General of BIMSTEC in a meeting with Nepali officials proposed March 30 as a date for holding the Summit of the regional body. The 4th Summit took place in Nepal in 2018. The Summit to be held every two years was postponed due to the Covid-10 pandemic.
The date will be announced once the Secretary-General takes the consent of all member countries. He is currently on a tour of member countries to expedite the process of holding the 5th conference. Discussions are underway to finalise the modality of Summit in the face of the pandemic.
Sushma Mahara’s Facial House marks 14 years of success
Facial House celebrated its 14th anniversary on January 1. The annual celebration was held in the office of the newly redesigned Facial House, located on the fourth floor of the Kathmandu Mall.
Former president of the FNCCI Bhavani Rana, actress Puja Sharma, filmmaker Shovit Basnet, actor Dikpal Karki and Yash Raj Garach were present on the occasion.
“I am a regular customer of Facial House due to its excellent service,” says Sharma. Similarly, Rana appreciated the dedication of Sushma Mahara, the managing director of Facial House.
“We have expanded our area so that we can now serve almost 60 customers at a single time,” Mahara adds who have been running three branches in Kathmandu and two outside the valley.
BIMSTEC Secretary-General appreciates Nepal’s contribution in advancing the regional body
Secretary-General of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Tenzin Lekphell has appreciated Nepal’s contributions in advancing the BIMSTEC process.
In a meeting with Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka he Stated that the Fourth BIMSTEC Summit held in Kathmandu was an important milestone in streamlining the areas of cooperation and institutional strengthening of the organization.
According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minister Khadka commended the Secretary-General for his leadership and expressed Nepal’s commitment to contribute constructively to help BIMSTEC make further advances.
He underlined the need to ensure that the Fifth Summit to be held in 2022 builds on the progress made thus far and provides important breakthroughs towards realizing the regional aspirations, the statement reads.
Both sides assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on economies and societies in the region and underlined the imperative to work in closer cooperation through the BIMSTEC framework.
PM Deuba to visit India next week
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is scheduled to visit India next week, according to government sources.
PM Deuba is attending the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, a development summit organized by the Gujarat Province of India. After attending the Summit, Deuba will hold bilateral talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to Indian Express, the heads of State of five nations, including Prime Ministers of Russia, Mauritius, Nepal, and Slovenia, and the President of Mozambique will attend the Vibrant Gujarat Summit scheduled to be held from January 10-12. A total of 26 nations will be partnering the summit as “partner countries”, the highest number since the summit began in 2003.
Government officials are working on the issues that PM Deuba should take up with the Indian side during the bilateral talks. euba who became prime minister in July has not visited India yet. Deuba and Modi held sidelines talks during COP26 Summit held in Scotland in November.
