BIMSTEC

23-12-2023

BIMSTEC

Why in the news?

India recently chose a senior diplomat to run BIMSTEC, or the 'Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation', as its fourth Secretary General (SG)

Important points:

• The incoming SG will have a challenging time to restore the momentum that could help the region deliver some useful results ahead of a full foreign minister-level meeting by mid-2024 and a possible summit in late 2024.
• The 6th BIMSTEC Summit under the chairmanship of Thailand will be held in 2024 with promising features.
  • Adoption of BIMSTEC Rules of Procedure
  • Adoption of BIMSTEC Maritime Cooperation Agreement (BMCA)
  • BIMSTEC Bangkok Vision 2030 launched
• After the conclusion of the sixth summit, Bangladesh will take over the BIMSTEC chairmanship from Thailand.

What is BIMSTEC:

• It is a regional organization consisting of seven member countries located in the coastal and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal, forming a contiguous regional unity.
• It was established on 6 June 1997 with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration.
• Initially it was known as BIST-EC (Bangladesh-India-Sri Lanka-Thailand Economic Cooperation).
• The organization is now known as BIMSTEC and consists of seven members, with Myanmar joining in late 1997 and Bhutan and Nepal in 2004.
• The Permanent Secretariat of BIMSTEC is functioning in Dhaka since September 2014.
• Every country is a leader in specific areas.
  • India is the leading country in four areas, namely terrorism and transnational crime, transport and communications, tourism, and environment and disaster management.

Member Countries in BIMSTEC:

• It has seven member states: five from South Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and two from Southeast Asia, including Myanmar and Thailand.

Focus Areas of BIMSTEC:

• There are six areas of focus under BIMSTEC – trade, technology, energy, transport, tourism and fisheries.

Areas of cooperation:

• The 14 priority areas are: 1) Counter-terrorism and Transnational Crime, 2) Transport and Communications, 3) Tourism, 4) Environment and Disaster Management, 5) Trade and Investment, 6) Cultural Cooperation, 7) Energy, 8) Agriculture , 9) Poverty alleviation, 10) Technology, 11) Fisheries, 12) Public health, 13) People-to-people contact, 14) Climate change.
• Cooperation within BIMSTEC initially focused on six sectors (trade, technology, energy, transport, tourism and fisheries) in 1997 and expanded to other sectors in 2008.
• BIMSTEC connects not only South and Southeast Asia, but also the ecology of the Great Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal.

Main objectives of BIMSTEC:

• To create an enabling environment for rapid economic development of the sub-region.
• To encourage the spirit of equality and partnership.
• To promote active cooperation and mutual assistance in areas of common interests of the member countries.
• To intensify support for each other in the field of education, science and technology etc.

What are the principles of BIMSTEC:

• sovereign equality
• territorial integrity
• political freedom
• No interference in internal affairs
• peaceful coexistence
• mutual benefit
• Constitute an addition to, and not be a substitute for, bilateral, regional or multilateral cooperation involving Member States.

Centers of BIMSTEC:

• BIMSTEC Energy Centre: It is planned to be established on the campus of Central Power Research Institute in Bengaluru, India.
  • It will also function as the secretariat of the BIMSTEC Grid Interconnection Coordination Committee.

• BIMSTEC Center on Weather and Climate: It is set up at the National Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasting in Uttar Pradesh, India.
• BIMSTEC Cultural Industries Observatory: It was proposed to establish BIMSTEC Cultural Industries Commission and BIMSTEC Cultural Industries Observatory in Bhutan in the year 2006.
• BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility: The Memorandum of Association (MOA) regarding its establishment was signed during the 5th BIMSTEC Summit in 2022, but is yet to be implemented.

                                                          Source:The hindu business line