The latest resurgence of COVID-19 gives the year 2021 a tepid start. Speaking of the activity calendar of BIMSTEC, leaders and diplomatic officials might wonder how the major meeting in Bangkok this year will be conducted considering the travel restrictions brought about by the pandemic.
2021 is a very important year for Thailand, which will succeed Sri Lanka as chairman of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) for 2021. Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has planned in advance to make the event high profile as it is to mark the 24
th anniversary of BIMSTEC, which indeed was conceived in Bangkok on 6 June 1997.