New Delhi: Nepal's foreign secretary Sewa Lamsal arrived in India to attend the BIMSTEC Foreign Minister's Retreat.

In a press release, Nepal's foreign ministry stated, "Foreign Secretary Ms Sewa Lamsal is leaving for New Delhi today, leading a Nepali delegation to the Second BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers' Retreat scheduled to be held on 11-12 July 2024 in New Delhi, the Republic of India."

During the Retreat, the Foreign Secretary will also discuss further strengthening regional cooperation and partnerships in agreed areas of mutual interests and complementarities within the BIMSTEC framework, according to a press release.

During the visit to Delhi, Sewa Lamsal is scheduled to call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with the BIMSTEC delegation.

The release further said, "On the occasion, the Foreign Ministers and Heads of Delegations of the BIMSTEC Member States are scheduled to pay a joint call on His Excellency Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India."

Nepal's foreign secretary will be accompanied by a senior official of the Ministry and will return to Kathmandu on July 13.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will host his counterparts for the 2nd BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers' Retreat in New Delhi on July 11-12.

The Retreat will present an opportunity for the Foreign Ministers of BIMSTEC nations to discuss avenues to broaden and deepen cooperation in various sectors, including security, connectivity, trade and investment, people-to-people contacts etc in the Bay of Bengal region and littoral, according to Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

In a press release, MEA said, "The Retreat will present an opportunity for the Foreign Ministers of the BIMSTEC countries to discuss, in an informal setting, avenues to broaden and deepen cooperation across various sectors including in the fields of security, connectivity, trade and investment, people to people contacts etc, in the Bay of Bengal region and littoral.

"The first edition of the BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers' Retreat was held in Thailand's Bangkok on 17 July 2023. BIMSTEC comprises seven Member States - Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

The MEA noted, "The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), brings together seven countries of South and South East Asia for multifaceted cooperation."

(With Inputs From Agencies)