Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India hosted   First Meeting of BIMSTEC Task Force on Traditional Medicine on 24-25 October, 2017 at Parvasi Bhartiya Kendra, New Delhi.

            The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an International Organisation involving a group of countries in the South Asia and South East Asia namely, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal. India being a major stake holder in the field of Traditional Medicine plays an important role in influencing the policies and strategies related to the Traditional Medicine in the BIMSTEC Forum

            Delegations from the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, the Kingdom of Bhutan, the Republic of India, and the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Kingdom of Thailand along with the BIMSTEC Secretariat participated in the Meeting.

            The Meeting was inaugurated on 24 October 2017 by Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH. While welcoming the delegates from the BIMSTEC Member States, Secretary AYUSH  referred  to the rich heritage of Traditional systems of Medicine in the BIMSTEC Member States. He emphasised that the BIMSTEC Forum provides an ideal platform for fostering collaborations among the Member States in the area of Traditional Medicine. He highlighted the recent developments in the International Cooperation activities of the Ministry. He hoped that the deliberations during the Meeting would bring fruitful outcomes in strengthening the cooperation amongst the BIMSTEC Member States in areas of Traditional Medicine.

            Sh. Pramod Kumar Pathak, Joint Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH and Head of Delegation of India was elected Chairman of the Meeting and  Dr. Yi Yi Myint, Head of Delegation of Myanmar was elected  Vice-Chair. All the Delegations made Country Presentations on the status and best practices of Traditional Medicine in their respective country. The Meeting discussed the following important agenda :-

            (a)        Implementation of Strategies of BIMSTEC Task Force on Traditional Medicines (BITFM)

            (b)        Priority Areas for technical and research collaboration among the Member  States on Traditional Medicine

            (c)        Regional strategy on the protection of Genetic Resource associated with    Traditional Medicine Knowledge and Intellectual Property Rights and develop a work plan

            (d)       Human Resource Development and Capacity Building among the BIMSTEC Member States

            (e)        New Initiative, proposals and programmes for cooperation on Traditional Medicine among the BIMSTEC Task Force on Traditional Medicine.

            The Meeting also acknowledged that in accordance with the ToR of the Task Force, the BTFTM Meetings shall be held on rotational basis among the BIMSTEC Member States..

The Meeting considered and adopted the draft Report of the First Meeting of the Task Force for submission to the Fourth Meeting of the BNNCCTM to be held in Bangladesh. The Meeting conveyed its deep appreciation to the Government of the Republic of India for the warm hospitality extended to the participants and for the excellent arrangement made for the Meeting.

SK