The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation secretary general Indra Mani Pandey on Monday met with Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus in Dhaka to discuss BIMSTEC’s activities and future directions.

Pandey highlighted efforts to make BIMSTEC a more active regional forum, with Bangladesh set to assume the chair after the upcoming summit.

He emphasized new initiatives, including agreements on maritime transport and energy cooperation, and prioritizing climate and environmental issues.

Professor Yunus stressed the importance of youth engagement and climate action, announcing a youth festival in Dhaka.

‘We’ve poised to become a functionally more active organisation,’ Pandey said.

‘With your leadership, we will be able to make progress in many areas,’ he said.

Thailand was expected to hold the BIMSTEC summit in September. But it was postponed and will be rescheduled later.

Pandey said the group has started holding three ministerial meetings a year and has signed agreements in key areas, including maritime transport and energy cooperation.

He said environment and climate change have also emerged as key priority areas of the group.

Professor Yunus said the group should focus more on youth, environment and climate crisis issues. He highlighted the achievements of the Bangladeshi young people who led a successful revolution in July-August.

‘They are the future,’ he said, adding that Dhaka would hold a festival for the youth shortly, and he hoped each of the seven nations would send young people to join the festival in the Bangladesh capital.

Pandey praised the Three Zero movement launched by the 2006 Nobel Peace Laureate.

He said women centric development is also a key priority of the BIMSTEC.

Professor Yunus said among the BIMSTEC nations, Nepal alone has more than 700 Three Zero clubs, and at least eight Indian universities have set up social business hubs.