Regular interactions with BIMSTEC countries in the form of Business Summits, Young Leaders Summits, Establishing BIMSTEC Chamber of Commerce, Sports Events and others such measures, can go long way in improving economic cooperations among nations in the region. — Dr. Ashwani Mahajan

A few days ago, the Prime Minister of India participated in the sixth summit of the seven Asian countries 'BIMSTEC' held in Bangkok and called for better connectivity, economic and digital relations among these countries. It is worth noting that 'BIMSTEC' includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. According to the International Monetary Fund's 2024 estimates, these countries produce a total GDP of 5.23 trillion USD, in which naturally India has the highest contribution. It is an international economic cooperation organization of the countries on the coast or near the Bay of Bengal. Most important point is that Pakistan is not a member country of this organization.

Although this organization has been running for more than 27 years, it was initially formed in June 1997, as BISTEC, i.e. Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation. Shortly in December 1997, Myanmar was included in it and its became, BIMSTEC, that is, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation. In February 2004, Nepal and Bhutan became its members and its name remained BIMSTEC, but it now came to be known as 'Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation'. So far, its 6 Summits have been held in Thailand, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka respectively, after which its sixth summit was held once again in Thailand, Bangkok from 2 to 4 April 2025.

How is BIMSTEC different from SAARC?

It is worth noting that SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) is also an organization of India's neighbouring countries. SAARC was formed in 1985 as an organization of seven countries of South Asia, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan joined it in 2007. SAARC has 9 observer countries also, which also include the European Union, the United States of America, Iran and China. To promote trade among the SAARC countries, two agreements named South Asian Preferential Trade Agreement, i.e. SAPTA; and South Asian Free Trade Area, i.e. SAFTA were signed in 1995 and 2004 respectively. The purpose of these agreements was to promote trade and development for the welfare of the people in this region. There was some controversy in SAARC from the very beginning, because Pakistan had started working to defame India by instigating smaller countries against her.

In view of this attitude of Pakistan, the work of promoting BIMSTEC was started under India’s ‘Look East Policy' starting from 1992. BIMSTEC was strengthened by making Indian Ocean Rim Association in 1997, Mekong Ganga Cooperation in 2000 and Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal Transport Agreement in 2015. It is worth mentioning that after India showed cold feet to SAARC, the importance of SAARC eroded and not a single summit has been held for the last more than 10 years.

What are the expectations from BIMSTEC?

It is worth noting that all the seven neighbouring or adjacent countries of India included in BIMSTEC are developing countries. India is the largest among these countries in terms of economy and population. Today, when various types of barriers and confusions are on rise, among the countries around the world, the importance of this regional economic cooperation organization increases further under India's 'Look East Policy'. The people of this region are impressed by the technological and economic progress that India has made in the last decade. Whether it is a matter of connectivity or digitization, or cooperation in the field of space, India is in a position today to cooperate with the countries of this region.

Both India's strong economic position and soft power make it the most important part of BIMSTEC for the leadership of this region. This is the reason why the speech given by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the sixth summit of BIMSTEC holds special importance. Prime Minister Modi described BIMSTEC as an important bridge between South Asia and South East Asia. The Prime Minister said that BIMSTEC has now become an effective platform for regional cooperation, coordination and development. In this context, Prime Minister Modi called for further strengthening the agenda and capacity of BIMSTEC.

The Prime Minister also announced a number of India-led initiatives towards institution and capacity building in BIMSTEC. These include setting up of BIMSTEC Centres of Excellence in India on research and training in disaster management, sustainable maritime transport, traditional medicine and agriculture. He also announced a new programme for skilling the youth, under which training and scholarships will be provided to professionals, students, researchers, diplomats and others. He also offered a pilot study by India to assess regional needs in digital public infrastructure and a capacity building programme for cancer care in the region. Calling for greater regional economic integration, the Prime Minister also offered to establish a BIMSTEC Chamber of Commerce and hold a BIMSTEC Business Summit in India every year. Emphasising the need to further develop the historical and cultural ties that bring the region together, the Prime Minister announced a number of initiatives to further strengthen people-to-people ties. India will host the ‘BIMSTEC Athletics Meet’ this year and will also host the first ‘BIMSTEC Games’ in 2027 when the group celebrates its 30th anniversary. It will also host the ‘BIMSTEC Traditional Music Festival’. To bring the youth of the region closer, the Prime Minister announced the ‘Young Leaders Summit’, Hackathon and ‘Young Professional Visitors Programme’.

Now when SAARC is defunct, due to Pakistan’s negative attitude, and BIMSTEC has taken over as the the new regional grouping, with India as a dominant force, where different nations in the region, are looking towards India for cooperation in space, payment systems, digitisation, industrialisation, and others, it gives a new opportunity for India to expand its influence in the region, where China has been trying to dominate by way of infrastructure and other means. Prime Minister’s visit to neighbouring countries, including Sri Lanka and – is an indication that India is seriously thinking of developing cooperation with its neighbouring countries. It has got geopolitical significance also, given China’s rising influence in the region. as China has also been trying to Increase its influence in these countries. Regular interactions with BIMSTEC countries in the form of Business Summits, Young Leaders Summits, Establishing BIMSTEC Chamber of Commerce, Sports Events and others such measures, can go long way in improving economic cooperations among nations in the region.