NEW DELHI: It’s been around for more than two decades. Yet “lack of visibility” was the main complaint of envoys from the seven members of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) ahead of its 4th summit in Kathmandu August 30-31, which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Set up in 1997 as an attempt to forge sectoral connectivity among states along the Bay of Bengal region, the organization now includes seven nations — Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand. Together, it is home to 1.5 billion people, approximately 22 per cent of the world population and a combined GDP of 2.7 trillion USD. In his message on the 20th Anniversary of BIMSTEC in June last, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, described it as “a natural platform” to fulfill India’s “key foreign policy priorities of ‘Neighbourhood First’ and ‘Act East’.”
Yet the organisation has been struggling to cope with the disparate and at times conflicting needs and priorities of the member states, and critics complain that the three earlier summits were mostly declamatory in nature, with no tangible progress. “The Bay of Bengal is the largest bay in the world, but today it is the least integrated region,” rued Mrs Chitranganee Wagiswara, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India at a panel discussion with BIMSTEC heads of missions in New Delhi August 20, organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).
Noting that “The visibility of BIMSTEC needs to be enhanced in a region where already a few other regional cooperation groups like ASEAN, SAARC, SASEC are in place,” Bangladesh High Commissioner Syed Muazzem Ali said that “It is really disappointing that we are yet to finalise and conclude the FTA which was negotiated in 2004. We need to expedite the BIMSTEC FTA to boost our intra-regional trade from its present level of 7 per cent to 21 per cent.”
At a briefing ahead of Modi’s visit to Kathmandu, the MEA’s secretary east Preeti Saran was upbeat and positive. BIMSTEC nations were discussing agreements on free trade agreements, easing motor vehicles movement and coastal shipping, but “these things take time.”
Basic Facts
Originally launched in June 1997 as an economic sectoral grouping with four member states, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand in Bangkok.
Renamed as ‘BIMST-EC’ (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation) following the inclusion of Myanmar later that year.
With the admission of Nepal and Bhutan, the name of the grouping was changed to BIMSTEC, with its headquarters in Dhaka.