Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation explained

BIMSTEC
Linking Name:The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation
Image Symbol:File:BIMSTEC (intergovernmental organization) logo.png
Symbol Type:
Symbol Width:150px
Admin Center Type:Secretariat
Leader Title2:Secretary General
Leader Name2: (since 2023)[1]
Admin Center:Dhaka, Bangladesh[2]
Languages Type:Official language
Languages:English
Leader Title1:Chairmanship
Leader Name1: (since March 2022)[3]
Area Km2:4,876,941
Area Sq Mi:4876941km2
Population Estimate:1,723,388,648[4]
Population Estimate Year:2020
Population Density Km2:353.37
Population Density Sq Mi:136.4
Gdp Ppp: US$18.582 trillion[5]
Gdp Ppp Rank:3rd
Gdp Nominal: $5.225 trillion
Gdp Nominal Year:2023
Gdp Nominal Rank:4th
Area Rank:7th
Conventional Long Name:Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organisation 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).[6] The BIMSTEC member states – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand[7] – are among the countries dependent on the Bay of Bengal.

Fourteen priority sectors of cooperation have been identified and several BIMSTEC centres have been established to focus on those sectors. A BIMSTEC free trade agreement is under negotiation (c. 2018), 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).[8] [9] 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.[10]

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.

Permanent Secretariat

The BIMSTEC Permanent Secretariat at Dhaka was opened in 2014 and India contributes 32% of its expenditure.[11] The current Secretary General of the BIMSTEC is Ambassador Indra Mani Pandey from India.

No.DateCountrySecretary General of the BIMSTEC
12014–2017 Sri LankaSumith Nakandala
22017–2020 BangladeshM Shahidul Islam
32020–2023 BhutanTenzin Lekphell
42023–present IndiaShri 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 Bangladesh (1997–1999, 2005-2006), India (2000, 2006-2008), Myanmar (2001-2002, 2009-14), Sri Lanka (2002-2003, 2018-2022), Thailand (2004-2005, 2022-24), Nepal (2015-18).[12]

Member nations

Notes:
  • (*) = Chief executive
  • § =
    CountriesHead of stateHead of governmentPopulationNominal GDP / billion[13]
    BangladeshMohammed Shahabuddin, President of BangladeshMuhammad Yunus, Chief Adviser of Bangladesh (*)align=right align=right 419.237
    BhutanJigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, King of BhutanTshering Tobgay, Prime Minister of Bhutan (*)align=right align=right 2.653
    Droupadi Murmu, President of IndiaNarendra Modi, Prime Minister of India (*)align=right align=right 3,937.743
    Myint Swe, Acting President of MyanmarMin Aung Hlaing, Prime Minister of Myanmar (*) §)align=right align=right 69.262
    Ram Chandra Poudel, President of NepalK. P. Sharma Oli, Prime Minister of Nepal (*)align=right 29,164,578align=right 36.315
    Ranil Wickremesinghe, President of Sri Lanka (*)Dinesh Gunawardena, Prime Minister of Sri Lankaalign=right align=right 81.934
    Vajiralongkorn (Rama X), King of ThailandSrettha Thavisin, Prime Minister of Thailand (*)align=right align=right 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:[14] [15] [16] 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 AreaLead CountryCentreComments
    Transport and communication
    Tourism
    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
    Energy BIMSTEC Grid Interconnection MoU signed in 2014[17] [18]
    Public Health BIMSTEC Network of National Centres on Coordination in Traditional Medicine
    Agriculture
    Trade & Investment
    Technology
    Fisheries
    People-to-People Contact
    Poverty Alleviation
    Climate Change
    Cultural Cooperation 1200 ITEC scholarships by India

    In a virtual BIMSTEC Colombo summit which took place on March 30, 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.[19]

    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.[20] 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.[21] 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.[22]

    BIMSTEC Summits

    No.DateHost countryHost city
    1st31 July 2004 ThailandBangkok
    2nd13 November 2008 IndiaNew Delhi
    3rd4 March 2014 MyanmarNaypyidaw[23]
    4th30–31 August 2018 NepalKathmandu[24] [25]
    5th30 March 2022 Sri LankaColombo (Virtual meeting)[26]

    Projects

    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

    External links

    Notes and References

    1. News: Ambassador Indra Mani Pandey assumes charge of BIMSTEC Secretary General. 5 January 2024 . 13 January 2024.
    2. News: Nepal unlikely to host fourth 'Bimstec' summit this year. Business Standard India. 17 December 2016. 3 June 2016.
    3. News: Thailand has assumed the chairmanship of BIMSTEC for 2022 – 2023 for prosperous, resilient and robust, and open Bay of Bengal region. 30 March 2022. 30 March 2022.
    4. Web site: World Urbanization Prospects — Population Division — United Nations. un.org. 17 February 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150218125411/http://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/CD-ROM/. 18 February 2015. dead.
    5. Web site: Report for Selected Countries and Subjects. imf.org.
    6. http://bimstec.org/ BIMSTEC
    7. Web site: Regional economic integration in the Bay of Bengal. 25 February 2016.
    8. News: Haidar. Suhasini. BIMSTEC a sunny prospect in BRICS summit at Goa. 16 October 2016. The Hindu. 15 October 2016. en-IN.
    9. News: BRICS Summit 2016: BIMSTEC members have economic opportunities to share, said Narendra Modi . The Economic Times. 16 October 2016.
    10. 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.
    11. Web site: Area of cooperation . 21 December 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171222052951/http://bimstec.org/area-of-cooperation/ . 22 December 2017.
    12. Web site: Third BIMSTEC Summit Declaration . 12 March 2014.
    13. Web site: World Economic Outlook Database, October 2019 . 15 October 2019 . IMF.org . International Monetary Fund. 3 September 2019.
    14. http://www.indiawrites.org/bimstec-building-bridges-between-south-asia-southeast-asia/ BIMSTEC: Building bridges between South Asia & Southeast Asia
    15. Web site: Energy. bimstec.org. en-US. 6 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171206152918/http://bimstec.org/sectors/energy/. 6 December 2017. dead.
    16. Web site: BIMSTC sectors . 22 January 2017 . 29 May 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170529212023/http://www.bimstec.org/index.php?page=sectors . dead .
    17. Web site: India Cabinet Approves Signing of BIMSTEC Power Grid Pact News South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation. www.sasec.asia. en-US. 6 December 2017.
    18. News: Nepal to join BIMSTEC Grid Interconnection. 6 December 2017. en.
    19. Web site: Bimstec committee mulls free trade deal in Dhaka. 13 November 2018. 30 March 2019. 30 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190330010611/http://asianews.eu/content/bimstec-committee-mulls-free-trade-deal-dhaka-85786. dead.
    20. Web site: BIMSTEC Member States discuss draft text of Coastal Shipping Agreement.
    21. Web site: First BIMSTEC Conclave of Ports, Vishakhapatnam (November 7-8, 2019).
    22. http://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/kavita-iyengar-RPDSTCSA-20nov2014.pdf BIMSTEC Transport Infrastructure and Logistic Study
    23. Web site: BIMSTEC Summit. Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation. 17 December 2016. 14 January 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170114233639/http://www.bimstec.org/index.php?page=bimstec-summit. dead.
    24. News: Nepal proposes dates for Bimstec Summit . Business Standard India . 1 July 2018 . 5 June 2018.
    25. Web site: 31 August 2018 . 4th BIMSTEC Summit: Kathmandu Declaration adopted by Member States . 31 August 2018.
    26. Web site: 5th BIMSTEC Summit, Sri Lanka (March 30, 2022) . 2022-03-28 . mea.gov.in.