BIMSTEC

• Coordination with 14 areas)

Shift towards BIMSTEC

• The increase in trade could not be achieved through SAARC, as the organization has fallen victim to the bilateral dispute between India and Pakistan. Herein lies the opportunity that BIMSTEC provides.
• India can focus on connectivity projects in and around the Bay of Bengal region which will help unleash the potential of the seven northeastern states in India.
• The Sittwe port in Myanmar is closer to the northeast region than Kolkata.
• Physical connectivity with BIMSTEC would also help India integrate itself with ASEAN’s Master Plan of Connectivity 2025.
• India has already invested in the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway, the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project and the BIMSTEC Motor Vehicle Agreement.
• Better connectivity projects will help India leverage the untapped potential of BIMSTEC’s possible trade linkages.
• India has moved from Look East Policy to Act East Policy and Indo Pacific cooperation through its diaspora, culture and connectivity. This has led to India’s goodwill in the region.
• Regional Co-operation: SAARC–Motor vehicle agreement, SAARC satellite project (Now south Asian Satellite).
• BIMSTEC’s major strength comes from the fact that it includes two influential regional powers: Thailand and India. This adds to the comfort of smaller neighbours by reducing the fear of dominance by one big power.
• Economic vistas: As a trade bloc, BIMSTEC provides many opportunities.
• The region has countries with the fastest-growing economies in the world. The combined GDP in the region is around US$2 trillion and will likely grow further.
• Trade among the BIMSTEC member countries reached six percent in just a decade, while in SAARC, it has remained around five percent since its inception.
• Compared to SAARC, BIMSTEC has greater trade potential as well. Among the member countries, India’s intra-BIMSTEC trade is around 3 percent of its total trade.
• BIMSTEC regional grouping happens to have five nations that are also part of SAARC. The fact that this region is growing at 6.5% per annum, collectively comprises of 1.5 billion people, is the drive behind India’s focus being part of BIMSTEC.

14 Sectors of Cooperation

Priority Area	Lead Country
Transport  & Communication	India
Tourism	India
Counterterrorism  & Transnational Crime	India
Environment  & Disaster Management	India
Energy	India
Public  Health	Thailand
Agriculture	Myanmar
Trade  & Investment	Bangladesh
Technology	Sri  Lanka
Fisheries	Thailand
People-to-People  Contact	Thailand
Poverty  Alleviation	Nepal
Climate  Change	Bangladesh
Cultural  Cooperation	Bhutan

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 became 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).

Principles of BIMSTEC

• Sovereign Equality.
• Territorial Integrity.
• Political Independence.
• No-interference in Internal Affairs.
• Peaceful Co- existence.
• Mutual Benefit.
• Constitute an addition to and not be a substitute for bilateral, regional or multilateral cooperation involving the Member States.

Institutional Mechanisms

• BIMSTEC Summit – highest policymaking body in BIMSTEC process and is comprised of heads of state/government of member states.
• Ministerial Meeting – second apex policy-making forum of BIMSTEC attended by the External/Foreign Ministers of Member States.
• Senior Officials’ Meeting – represented by Senior Officials of Foreign Ministries of the Member States.
• BIMSTEC Working Group – attended by Ambassadors of BIMSTEC Member Countries to Bangladesh or their representatives on a monthly basis at the BIMSTEC Secretariat in Dhaka.
• Business Forum & Economic Forum – the two important forums to ensure active participation of private sector.

Challenges

• Inconsistency in Meetings: BIMSTEC planned to hold summits every two years, ministerial meetings every year, but only four summits have taken place in 20 years upto 2018.
• Neglect by member states: It seems that India has used BIMSTEC only when it fails to work through SAARC in the regional setting and other major members like Thailand and Myanmar are focused more towards ASEAN than BIMSTEC.
• Broad Focus Areas: The focus of BIMSTEC is very wide, including 14 areas of cooperation like connectivity, public health, agriculture etc. It is suggested that BIMSTEC should remain committed to small focus areas and cooperate in them efficiently.
• Bilateral Issues between Member Nations: Bangladesh is facing one of the worst refugee crisis of Rohingyas from Myanmar who are fleeing prosecution in the state of Rakhine in Myanmar. There is a border conflict between Myanmar and Thailand.
• No FTA: BIMSTEC FTA was negotiated in 2004, talks on it are yet to be concluded.
• BCIM: The formation of another sub-regional initiative, the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Forum, with the proactive membership of China, has