The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organisation comprising seven littorals of the Bay of Bengal (BoB). The BoB not only connects these nations but binds them together by common culture and interests. The region is also a bridge between South and South East Asia. BIMSTEC is home to around 22% of the global population, a GDP of $ 2.7 trillion and an enviable growth rate of approximately 6.5%.

... Janajati groups in Nepal are neither culturally homogeneous nor are they so linguistically ... migrants from other geographical regions, they form the largest cluster ethnic group as their share in the country’s total population is 35.6 percent in 59 heterogeneous communities ... as the aspirations of the disadvantaged groups like the Janajati and Madheshi were not addressed, most of them rejected the constitution ...

Introduction The closest formulation of Pakistan’s Nuclear Security doctrine, if any, was enunciated in an article appearing in The News, in October 1999, written by former Foreign Minister Agha Shahi, former Foreign Secretary Abdus Sattar and Air Chief Air Marshal (retired) Zulfiqar Khan. It was India-specific and spoke of credible, minimum deterrence - it would be flexible in response in a dynamic threat environment. India’s offer of `No First use’ was rejected - instead, Pakistan offered a `No War Pact’, which was not acceptable to India.

VIF hosted an interaction with a three-member delegation of Bangladesh Tariqat Federation Party (BTF) and members of the Awami league led 14 party alliance. The discussions centred around the trend of a particular section of Bangladesh’s polity attempting to move the narrative further right, while the other section would not only wish to arrest that trend but also promote a secular fabric which is inclusive and representative of entire Bangladesh.