Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement (NIICE) in collaboration with Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi organized a webinar on COVID-19 Response by BIMSTEC Countries on 11th June 2020. The panelists consisted of Dr. Pramod Jaiswal; Research Director, Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement, Prof. Shahab E Khan; Research Director, Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI), Prof. Jirayudh Sinthuphan, Director of South Asian Studies Centre, Chulalongkorn University and Ms. Ruwanthi Jayasekara, Research Assistant at Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka (INSSSL). Ms. Ruwanthi Jayasekara noted that Sri Lanka has a success story of battling COVID-19. She noted, “Pandemic has made us realize the resources and the potential that Sri Lanka possesses, which wasn’t recognized until we were made to live with them.” She further expressed that the decline of economies poses both short and long term threats and it is necessary that the regional economy is strengthened via possible avenues of cooperation in the domains of blue economy, air connectivity and agriculture.
Other panelists expressed the responses taken by each country and the need for BIMSTEC countries to come up with a meaningful solution in response to the pandemic. Dr. Sinthuphan pointed out the importance of building a better healthcare system in the region, in which both traditional and modern medicine would go hand in hand. It was noted that the demography of the BIMSTEC countries is different from other regions. India is acting as the net security provider of the region and therefore its role is paramount in strengthening the organization. Better and successful integration of the region will reduce the over dependence on extra regional countries.