India committed to expand its National Knowledge Network: PM Modi at BIMSTEC

The Indian government is in the process of extending it’s National Knowledge Network to Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in order to enhance cooperation in the field of education, PM Narendra Modi said at BIMSTEC summit in Kathmandu on Thursday.

"India is already committed to enhancing its National Knowledge Network in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal in the field of digital connectivity,” PM Narendra Modi said.

The National Knowledge Network (NKN) is a state-of-the-art multi-gigabit pan-India network for providing a unified high-speed network backbone for all knowledge related institutions in the country.

“All of us have faced problems like drug trafficking and transnational issues relating to terrorism. On topics related to narcotics, we are ready to organize a conference in BIMSTEC framework,” PM said at the summit.

"Our country, belonging to the Himalayas and the Gulf of Bengal, frequently faces natural disasters like flood, cyclone and earthquake. In this context, our cooperation and coordination with humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts with each other are necessary," PM Modi said during his address.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister was accorded the guard of honour at Kathmandu after his arrival after that PM Modi and Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina met Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari.

Modi said on Wednesday that his participation in the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit in Kathmandu signals India’s highest priority to its neighbourhood and a strong commitment to continue deepening ties with the “extended neighbourhood” in South-East Asia.

In a statement before leaving for Nepal for the two-day summit, Modi said he will interact with the leaders of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand on the margins of the summit whose theme is ‘Towards a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable Bay of Bengal region’

“I also look forward to meeting Prime Minister of Nepal KP Sharma Oli and reviewing the progress we have made in our bilateral ties since my last visit to Nepal in May 2018,” he said.

The BIMSTEC is a regional grouping comprising Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal. The grouping accounts for 22 % of the global population.