BIMSTEC

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The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organization of seven South Asian and Southeast Asian nations, housing 1.73 billion people and having a combined gross domestic product of US$5.2 trillion (2023).[3][4] The BIMSTEC member states – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand[5] – are among the countries dependent on the Bay of Bengal.

Fourteen priority sectors of cooperation have been identified and several BIMSTEC centers have been established to focus on those sectors.[3][6] A BIMSTEC free trade agreement is under negotiation As of 2018Template:Dated maintenance category (articles)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., referred to as similar to SAARC.

Leadership is rotated in alphabetical order of country names. The permanent secretariat is in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Background

On 6 June 1997, a new sub-regional grouping was formed in Bangkok under the name BIST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand Economic Cooperation).[7][8] Following the inclusion of Myanmar on 22 December 1997 during a special Ministerial Meeting in Bangkok, the Group was renamed 'BIMST-EC' (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation). In 1998, Nepal became an observer. In February 2004, Nepal and Bhutan became full members.

On 31 July 2004, in the first Summit the grouping was renamed as BIMSTEC or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation.[9]

Objective

There are 14 main sectors of BIMSTEC along technological and economic cooperation among South Asian and Southeast Asian countries along the coast of the Bay of Bengal.

  1. Trade & Investment
  2. Transport & Communication
  3. Energy
  4. Tourism
  5. Technology
  6. Fisheries
  7. Agriculture
  8. Public Health
  9. Poverty Alleviation
  10. Counter-Terrorism & Transnational Crime
  11. Environment & Disaster Management
  12. People-to-People Contact
  13. Cultural Cooperation
  14. Climate Change

Sectors 7 to 13 were added at the 8th Ministerial Meeting in Dhaka in 2005 while the 14th sector was added in 11th Ministerial Meeting in New Delhi in 2008.

Member nations are denoted as Lead Countries for each sector.

  • Provides cooperation to one another for the provision of training and research facilities in educational vocational and technical fields
  • Promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in economic, social, technical and scientific fields of common interest
  • Provides help to increase the socio-economic growth of the member countries

Permanent Secretariat

The BIMSTEC Permanent Secretariat at Dhaka was opened in 2014 and India contributes 32% of its expenditure.[3][10] The current Secretary General of the BIMSTEC is Ambassador Indra Mani Pandey from India.

No. Date Country Secretary General of the BIMSTEC
1 2014–2017 File:Flag of Sri Lanka.svg Sri Lanka Sumith Nakandala
2 2017–2020 File:Flag of Bangladesh.svg Bangladesh M Shahidul Islam
3 2020–2023 File:Flag of Bhutan.svg Bhutan Tenzin Lekphell
4 2024–present File:Flag of India.svg India Indra Mani Pandey

Chairmanship

The BIMSTEC uses the alphabetical order for the Chairmanship. The Chairmanship of the BIMSTEC has been taken in rotation commencing with

Template:Flagcountry (1997–1999, 2005–2006, 2025–Present)

Template:Flagcountry (2000, 2006–2008)

Template:Flagcountry (2001–2002, 2009–2014)

Template:Flagcountry (2002–2003, 2018–2022)

Template:Flagcountry (2004–2005, 2022–2024)

Template:Flagcountry (2015–2018).[11]

Member nations

Notes
(*) = Chief executive
§ =

Template:Supranational Asian Bodies

Countries Head of state Head of government Population Nominal GDP / US$Template:Replacebillion[12]
File:Flag of Bangladesh.svg Bangladesh Mohammed Shahabuddin, President of Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus, Chief Adviser of Bangladesh (*) Template:UN Population 419.237
File:Flag of Bhutan.svg Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, King of Bhutan Tshering Tobgay, Prime Minister of Bhutan (*) Template:UN Population 2.653
File:Flag of India.svg India Droupadi Murmu, President of India Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India (*) Template:UN Population 3,937.743
File:Flag of Myanmar.svg Myanmar Myint Swe, Acting President of Myanmar Min Aung Hlaing, Prime Minister of Myanmar (*) §Template:Efn Template:UN Population 69.262
File:Flag of Nepal.svg   Nepal Ram Chandra Poudel, President of Nepal K. P. Sharma Oli, Prime Minister of Nepal (*) 31,122,378 41.393
File:Flag of Sri Lanka.svg Sri Lanka Anura Kumara Dissanayake, President of Sri Lanka (*) Harini Amarasuriya, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Template:UN Population 81.934
File:Flag of Thailand.svg Thailand Vajiralongkorn (Rama X), King of Thailand Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Prime Minister of Thailand (*) Template:UN Population 522.012

Heads of the member nations

Leaders are either heads of state or heads of government, depending on which is constitutionally the chief executive of the nation's government.

BIMSTEC priority sectors

14 priority areas have been identified with the lead nations appointed to lead the effort:[3][6][13] The organisation has 15 priority areas for cooperation, including Trade & Investment, Transport & Communication, Energy, Tourism, Technology, Fisheries, Agriculture, Public Health, Poverty Alleviation, Counter-Terrorism & Transnational Crime, Environment & Disaster Management, People-to-People Contact, Cultural Cooperation, Climate Change and Blue Economy.

Priority Area Lead Country Centre Comments
Transport and communication Script error: No such module "flag".
Tourism BIMSTEC Tourism Information Centre, Delhi
Counterterrorism and transnational crime Four subgroups: Intelligence sharing – Sri Lanka (lead),
Terror financing – Thailand,
Legal – Myanmar,
Law enforcement and narcotics – Myanmar
Environment and disaster management BIMSTEC Weather and Climate Centre, Noida
Energy File:Flag of Myanmar.svg Myanmar BIMSTEC Energy Centre, Bengaluru BIMSTEC Grid Interconnection MoU signed in 2014[14][15]
Public Health File:Flag of Thailand.svg Thailand BIMSTEC Network of National Centres on Coordination in Traditional Medicine
Agriculture File:Flag of Myanmar.svg Myanmar
Trade & Investment File:Flag of Bangladesh.svg Bangladesh
Technology File:Flag of Sri Lanka.svg Sri Lanka
Fisheries File:Flag of Thailand.svg Thailand
People-to-People Contact File:Flag of Thailand.svg Thailand
Poverty Alleviation File:Flag of Nepal.svg   Nepal
Climate Change File:Flag of Bangladesh.svg Bangladesh
Cultural Cooperation File:Flag of Bhutan.svg Bhutan 1200 ITEC scholarships by India

In a virtual BIMSTEC Colombo summit which took place on 30 March 2022, decision was taken to reduce, re-constitute and reconstruct the number of sectors of co-operation from the unwieldy 14 to a more manageable 7.

  1. Trade, Investment and Development - Bangladesh
  2. Environment and Climate Change - Bhutan
  3. Security and Energy - India
  4. Agriculture and Food Security - Myanmar
  5. People-to-people Contact - Nepal
  6. Science, Technology and Innovation - Sri Lanka
  7. Connectivity - Thailand

BIMSTEC Free Trade Area Framework Agreement

The BIMSTEC Free Trade Area Framework Agreement (BFTAFA) has been signed by all member nations to stimulate trade and investment in the parties, and attract outsiders to trade with and invest in the BIMSTEC countries at a higher level. Subsequently, the "Trade Negotiating Committee" (TNC) was set up, with Thailand as the permanent chair, to negotiate in areas of trade in goods and services, investment, economic co-operation, trade facilitations and technical assistance n. for LDCs. Once negotiation on trade in goods is completed, the TNC would then proceed with negotiation on trade in services and investment.[16]

The BIMSTEC Coastal Shipping Agreement draft was discussed on 1 December 2017 in New Delhi, to facilitate coastal shipping within 20 nautical miles of the coastline in the region to boost trade between the member countries. Compared to the deep sea shipping, coastal ship require smaller vessels with lesser draft and involve lower costs. Once the agreement becomes operational after it is ratified, a lot of cargo movement between the member countries can be done through the cost effective, environment friendly and faster coastal shipping routes.[17] The necessity for coastal shipping ecosystem and electricity grid interconnectivity, as two of the necessary components of the evolving shape of BIMSTEC.

On 7 and 8 November 2019, the first ever BIMSTEC Conclave of Ports summit was held in Visakhapatnam, India.[18] The main aims of this summit is providing a platform to strengthen maritime interaction, port-led connectivity initiatives and sharing best practices among member countries.

In 2022 summit saw the declaration of the Master Plan for Transport Connectivity that would provide a framework for regional and domestic connectivity,

Cooperation with Asian Development Bank (ADB)

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) becomes a partner in 2005, to undertake the "BIMSTEC Transport Infrastructure and Logistic Study" (BTILS), which was completed in 2014.[19]

BIMSTEC Summits

File:The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh alongwith the other Heads of State attending the BIMST-EC Summit pose for a group photograph, in New Delhi on November 13, 2008.jpg
Second Summit at New Delhi, India
File:PM Narendra Modi attends the 6th BIMSTEC Summit at Bangkok, in Thailand on April 04, 2025.jpg
Sixth Summit at Bangkok, Thailand
No. Date Host country Host city
1st 31 July 2004 File:Flag of Thailand.svg Thailand Bangkok
2nd 13 November 2008 File:Flag of India.svg India New Delhi
3rd 4 March 2014 File:Flag of Myanmar.svg Myanmar Naypyidaw[20]
4th 30–31 August 2018 File:Flag of Nepal.svg   Nepal Kathmandu[21][22][23]
5th 30 March 2022 File:Flag of Sri Lanka.svg Sri Lanka Colombo (Virtual meeting)[24]
6th 2-4 April 2025 File:Flag of Thailand.svg Thailand Bangkok[25]

Upcoming Summit 7th BIMSTEC Summit Host country Bangladesh

Projects

  • Coast shipping
  • Power grid interconnection
  • Regional disaster monitoring and warning system
  • Road and rail Look-East connectivity projects
  • MILEX-18:The first-ever BIMSTEC Multinational Military Field Training Exercise (MILEX-18) was held in Pune, India from 10–16 September 2018. The exercise was attended by all seven BIMSTEC member countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

The theme of the exercise was counter-terrorism in semi-urban terrain. The participating troops conducted a series of exercises, including search-and-cordon operations, search and destroy, and handling and neutralisation of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). They also participated in a validation exercise on the final day of the exercise.

The MILEX-18 was a major success and was hailed as a significant step towards increased military cooperation in the Bay of Bengal region. The exercise helped to improve interoperability between the participating forces and to share best practices in the field of counter-terrorism. It also helped to build trust and confidence among the BIMSTEC member countries.

The MILEX-18 was a major boost to the BIMSTEC security cooperation agenda. It is expected to pave the way for more such exercises in the future, which will help to further enhance the security cooperation between the BIMSTEC member countries.

In addition to the military exercises, the MILEX-18 also included a number of other activities, such as an Army Chiefs' Conclave and a seminar on counter-terrorism. The Army Chiefs' Conclave was an opportunity for the participating countries to discuss and share their views on regional security issues. The seminar on counter-terrorism provided a forum for the participants to learn about the latest trends in terrorism and to discuss ways to counter it.

The MILEX-18 was a landmark event in the history of BIMSTEC. It was a major step towards increased military cooperation in the Bay of Bengal region and it is expected to have a positive impact on regional security.

The following are some of the key outcomes of the MILEX-18:

Improved interoperability between the participating forces. Sharing of best practices in the field of counter-terrorism. Building of trust and confidence among the BIMSTEC member countries. Paving the way for more such exercises in the future. Boost to the BIMSTEC security cooperation agenda. The MILEX-18 was a major success and it is a positive sign for the future of BIMSTEC security cooperation. The exercise helped to build trust and confidence among the member countries and it is expected to further enhance their cooperation in the field of security.

See also

Notes

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References

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  9. ↑ See for a detailed historical account of the founding and evolution of BIST-EC and BIMST-EC e.g. Michael, Arndt (2013). India's Foreign Policy and Regional Multilateralism (Palgrave Macmillan), pp. 145–163.
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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External links

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