Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli arrived in Thailand on Tuesday to attend the sixth summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) on an official visit to Thailand. Along with his official visit to Thailand, Prime Minister Oli will participate in the BIMSTEC Summit.

According to the Prime Minister's Office, the Oli-led team reached Bangkok at 6:30 local time on Tuesday evening. At Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok, Prime Minister Oli was welcomed by Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Suria Junggraugrengkit and Culture and Sports Minister Sorawong Theinbong, Nepalese Ambassador to Thailand Dhan Bahadur Wali, Thai Ambassador to Nepal Sawapong Sirisorn. 

This is the first official visit to Thailand by the Prime Minister of Nepal at the friendly invitation of the Prime Minister of Thailand, Pytongtarn Shinawatra. Although diplomatic relations were established between Nepal and Thailand 65 years ago, there was no formal visit at the Prime Minister level. 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Joint Secretary Krishna Dhakal visited Thailand and the BIMSTEC Summit. Participation Prime Minister Oli's visit has two objectives. As it is the first official visit of the Prime Minister of Nepal, he said that it is believed that this will further strengthen the economic and cultural relations between the two countries. 

Oli's official meeting and bilateral talks will start from Wednesday. Prime Minister Oli is meeting with the King and Prime Minister of Thailand on Wednesday. As Prime Minister Oli informed the parliament on Monday, 2 memorandums of understanding regarding tourism and culture will be signed between the two countries. 

Similarly, 6 memorandums of understanding will be signed between the non-governmental sector in the presence of the Prime Ministers of the two countries. After the bilateral talks, Oli will hold a joint press briefing with the Prime Minister of Thailand. Prime Minister Oli is scheduled to meet Thai businessmen on Thursday morning and address the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in the afternoon. On the same day in the evening, Oli will participate in the dinner given to the heads of state and heads of government of the BIMSTEC summit. 

On Friday morning, Prime Minister Oli is scheduled to participate in the agreement signing program on 'Merry Time Transport Cooperation' and address the BIMSTEC Summit. Oli will hold a 'sideline' meeting with the heads of state/prime minister of the member states participating in the summit. The meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is considered to be highly anticipated.  A meeting with Modi is likely on Friday after the conclusion of the

conference. Although efforts have been made for that at the diplomatic level, the meeting has not been decided yet. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Dhakal said there is a possibility of bilateral meetings with various governments and heads of state. He said that it is not clear now about whom the meeting has been scheduled. 

Addressing the Parliament on Monday, Prime Minister Oli said that he is preparing for sideline talks with the leaders of various countries as soon as possible after the summit. He mentioned that there will be sideline meetings as much as possible due to time constraints. He also did not reveal who he would meet with. It has been 8 and a half months since Oli became the Prime Minister. During this period he has not received an invitation to visit India. Oli's relations with India are interpreted as cold in diplomatic and political circles. That's why the subject of a separate meeting between Oli and Modi in Thailand is being watched with interest. 

Earlier, there was a bilateral meeting between Oli and Modi in New York last October. At that time, a sideline meeting was held during the 79th General Assembly of the United Nations. Since then, Oli and Modi are meeting on the platform of BIMSTEC. 

Prime Minister's wife Radhika Shakya, Foreign Minister Arju Rana Deuba, Prime Minister's Chief Advisor Bishnu Rimal, Economic Development Advisor Yuvraj Khatiwada are in the visiting team led by the Prime Minister. Similarly, Chief Secretary Eknarayan Aryal, Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai are in the team. The government team consists of 23 people including 3 journalists.

Similarly, there are 27 participants from the private sector. Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Dhakal said that since the Prime Minister has two separate programs for bilateral talks with the Government of Thailand and participating in the BIMSTEC Summit, the necessary officials are participating in the visiting party. The Prime Minister is scheduled to return home on March 23. 

The BIMSTEC summit is being held after last week's devastating earthquake in Myanmar. The earthquake also affected Thailand. Both countries are members of BIMSTEC. Apart from that, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka are members. Although it is suspected that the conference will be postponed due to the earthquake, Myanmar will participate and the host country is ready, but the conference is going to be held on the scheduled date. 

Earlier, the summit was scheduled for August 18 and 19. However, it could not happen at that time due to the political upheaval in Thailand. The summit was postponed due to the political upheaval following Thailand's constitutional court's dismissal of outgoing Prime Minister Shretha Thavisin. Later, a new date was fixed after consultation with all member countries. 

Three years after the fifth summit held virtually in Colombo on March 30, 2022, the main theme of this time is 'Prosperous, Flexible and Open BIMSTEC'. According to the BIMSTEC Secretariat, there will be a meeting of BIMSTEC senior officials on March 22 and BIMSTEC foreign ministers on March 23 before the summit.