Sri Lanka, Nov. 11 -- Health and Mass Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa has been elected Chairman of the first BIMSTEC Health Ministers' Meeting.

The meeting, aimed at taking regional health cooperation to a new level, commenced this morning (11) at the Hilton Colombo.

With Sri Lanka assuming the chairmanship, the country has been entrusted with the responsibility of leading collective efforts to strengthen health cooperation among BIMSTEC member states.

The meeting is attended by representatives from all seven member countries - Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar and Thailand.

Key areas of discussion include strengthening regional public health security, controlling communicable diseases, enhancing collective pr...