The event is scheduled to be held in August, although the dates are yet to be finalized.

Online news platform WION.com reported that the authorities are hoping to conduct the summit offline and the final decision will be taken considering the coronavirus pandemic.

However, it is reported that Sri Lanka, as the chair of the grouping this year, is eyeing a physical summit. 

The 2021 edition of the BIMSTEC will be the fifth summit of the grouping after the 2018 session which took place in Kathmandu.

The BIMSTEC, formed in 1997, has seven members: India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand and Sri Lanka.