NASTEC

SRI LANKA AND BIMSTEC SECRETARIAT SIGN HISTORIC HOST COUNTRY AGREEMENT TO OPERATIONALIZE TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER FACILITY COLOMBO, SRI LANKA – September 11, 2026

The Government of Sri Lanka and the Secretariat of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) officially signed a landmark Host Country Agreement (HCA) today. This vital agreement formalizes the legal status, privileges, and immunities required to fully operationalize the BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility (TTF) with its permanent headquarters established in Sri Lanka.The historic agreement was executed by Mr. M. L. Gammampila, Acting Secretary of the Ministry of Science and Technology, on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka, and H.E. Ambassador Indra Mani Pandey, the Secretary General of the BIMSTEC Secretariat based in Dhaka, Bangladesh.The high-profile signing ceremony took place on the sidelines of the Fourth Meeting of the BIMSTEC Expert Group on Science, Technology, and Innovation Cooperation. The event was witnessed by Mrs.Aruni Ranaraja, Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,Foreign Employment and Tourism, Ambassadors, High commissioners, and embassy officials representing the BIMSTEC Member States. This ceremony marks the successful realization of a strategic regional initiative originally envisioned nearly two decades ago during the Second BIMSTEC Summit in New Delhi in 2008. The operational plan was later formalized through a cooperation agreement during the Fifth BIMSTEC Summit held in Colombo in March 2022.With this milestone Host Country Agreement now finalized, the facility is legally empowered to begin its core operations. It will actively drive regional technological integration, and promote the commercialization of innovative research outputs across the Bay of Bengal.

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