India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Muhammad Yunus, the Chief Advisor to the interim government of Bangladesh, are expected to meet next month during the BIMSTEC Meeting. Although an official date has not yet been set, it is suggested that the summit will take place in Bangkok the following month.
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), a regional multilateral organization, will hold its next summit in Thailand. Five of its seven members are from South Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Two others are from Southeast Asia: Myanmar and Thailand.
BIMSTEC not only connects South and Southeast Asia, but also the ecologies of the Great Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal. It mainly aims to create an enabling environment for rapid economic development; accelerate social progress; and promote collaboration on matters of common interest in the region.
Genesis of BIMSTEC
This sub-regional organization came into being in 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration. Initially, it was formed with four Member States with the acronym ‘BIST-EC’ (Bangladesh, India, Sri-Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation). It was renamed ‘BIMST-EC’ in 1997, following the inclusion of Myanmar.
With the admission of Nepal and Bhutan in 2004, the name of the grouping was changed to ‘Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation’ (BIMSTEC).
Main Objectives of BIMSTEC
BIMSTEC aims to create an enabling environment for the rapid economic development of the sub-region; Encourage the spirit of equality and partnership; Promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in the areas of common interests of the member countries; and, accelerate support for each other in the fields of education, science, and technology, etc.
Principles of BIMSTEC
The organization is based on the principles of Sovereign Equality; Territorial Integrity; Political Independence; No-interference in Internal Affairs; Peaceful Co- existence; Mutual Benefit; Constitutes an addition to and not be a substitute for bilateral, regional or multilateral cooperation involving the Member States.
Potential of BIMSTEC
To be a bridge between South and Southeast Asia and represents a reinforcement of relations among these countries. Thus, the Bay of Bengal region has the potential to become the epicenter of the Indo-Pacific idea, a place where the strategic interests of the major powers of East and South Asia intersect – a platform for intra-regional cooperation between SAARC and ASEAN members.
Home to around 1.5 billion people that constitute around 22% of the global population and a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of USD 3.8 trillion, BIMSTEC has emerged as an influential engine of economic growth. It is a fourth of the world’s traded goods across the bay every year.
Important Connectivity Projects
Kaladan Multimodal Project – links India and Myanmar; Asian Trilateral Highway – connecting India and Thailand through Myanmar; and, Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicles Agreement – for seamless flow of passenger and cargo traffic.
Significance of BIMSTEC for India
It allows India to pursue three core policies:
Neighborhood First – primacy to the country’s immediate periphery.
Act East – connect India with Southeast Asia; and
Economic development of India’s northeastern states – by linking them to the Bay of Bengal region via Bangladesh and Myanmar.
It allows India to counter China’s creeping influence in countries around the Bay of Bengal due to the spread of its Belt and Road Initiative.
This is a new platform for India to engage with its neighbors with South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) becoming dysfunctional because of differences between India and Pakistan.
Key Areas of Cooperation within BIMSTEC
These are trade and Investment, technology, energy, transportation and communication; tourism; fisheries; agriculture; cultural cooperation; environment and disaster management; public health; People-to-People contact; Poverty alleviation; counter terrorism and transnational Crime; and climate change.
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