Dealing with pandemic-related woes and other public health issues has become a critical agenda for the member states of BIMSTEC over the last two years since the COVID-19 outbreak, a top official of the regional organisation said on Saturday.
Sri Lanka has been identified as the lead country for coordinating and planning on public health matters, he said.
“COVID-19 made us realise that pandemics and health per say is an important agenda, and as a region, we have to come together.
“Before COVID-19, we were focusing more on trade, connectivity, energy, electricity and such sectors, but not much on health. However, now we have realised that health is also a very important component,” Tenzin Lekphell, BIMSTEC secretary general, told PTI.
He was speaking here on the sidelines of a two-day meet of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation…
