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BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) was established in 1997 with 7 member countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia. It aims to promote economic cooperation between the member states. Key objectives include concluding negotiations on a free trade agreement and improving connectivity through projects like the India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway. However, critics say India's engagement has been ad hoc and delivery on commitments has been lacking. There is a need to move from an event-driven to process-driven approach to better realize BIMSTEC's potential.

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BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) was established in 1997 with 7 member countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia. It aims to promote economic cooperation between the member states. Key objectives include concluding negotiations on a free trade agreement and improving connectivity through projects like the India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway. However, critics say India's engagement has been ad hoc and delivery on commitments has been lacking. There is a need to move from an event-driven to process-driven approach to better realize BIMSTEC's potential.

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Carla Montgomery
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BIMSTEC
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) was
established in 1997 Bangkok Declaration with secretariat in Dhaka.

Member countries: Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan (No Maldives,
Afghanistan, Pakistan)

The BIMSTEC countries are home to a population of around 1.5 billion, approximately 21 % of global
population, with a cumulative GDP of US$ 2.5 trillion. The annual GDP growth rate has averaged around
6 %.
• The main objective of BIMSTEC is technical and economic cooperation among members.
• A sector-driven cooperative organization – total 14 sectors.
o Trade & Investment, Technology, Energy, Transportation & Communication, Tourism,
Fisheries, Agriculture, Cultural Cooperation, Environment and Disaster Management, Public
Health, People-to-People Contact, Poverty Alleviation, Counter-Terrorism and Transnational
Crime and Climate Change.
o Each Country leads some of the sector out of the above.
o India is the lead country for following sectors:
• Transportation & Communication, Tourism, Environment and Disaster Management,
Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime.
• Could act as a bridge between South and South East Asia and represents a reinforcement of
relations among these countries.
• A rational move to strengthen India’s Act East Policy and South-South cooperation.
• India is the leader here as far as size and GDP is concerned, Bangladesh (textile industry), Thailand
and Myanmar (more investment because of new democratic government), Sri Lanka (ports).

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Previous BIMSTEC Summits:


1st Summit (2004) - Bangkok (Thailand)
2nd Summit (2008) - New Delhi (India)
3rd Summit (2014) - Nay Pyi Daw (Myanmar)

4th BIMSTEC Summit is scheduled to be held from 28-31 August 2018 in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Key outcomes of BRICS-BIMSTEC Outreach Summit (Goa), 2016:

Connectivity:
• To explore the possibility of having a BIMSTEC Motor Vehicle Agreement.
• India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway

• Kaladan Multi-modal Transit Transport Project


o Agreement was signed in 2008. Construction began in 2010. But inadequate funds and poor
planning led to delays. Objective is to complete the project in 2019.
o The project will provide an alternate access route to the North Eastern region of India. The
project aims to create a multi-modal mode of transport for shipment of cargo from the
eastern ports of India to Myanmar as well as to the North-Eastern part of India through
Myanmar.
o It will connect Kolkata port with Sittwe port in Myanmar by sea, and then link Sittwe
seaport to Lashio in Myanmar via Kaladan river via inland water transport and then from
Lashio to Mizoram in India by road transport.
o When completed, the KMTT will shorten the current time taken to transport goods
from Kolkata to Mizoram by three-four days, and the distance by around 950 km. KMMT is
hailed as “Future gateway to South East Asia”.

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• Development of the Blue Economy - Knowledge paper by FICCI on Blue Economy


o Aquaculture (both inland and coastal), hydrography, seabed mineral exploration, coastal
shipping, eco-tourism and renewable ocean energy.
• Energy:
o To expedite the signing of the BIMSTEC MoU on Grid Interconnection.
o Early operationalization of the BIMSTEC Energy Centre (Bangalore)
• Trade:
o "early conclusion of BIMSTEC Free Trade Area negotiations"
• BIMSTEC Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters.
• BIMSTEC Convention on Cooperation in Combating International Terrorism, Transnational
Organized Crime and Illicit Drug Trafficking.
o India will host first military exercise of the BIMSTEC Countries in September 2018.
o Meetings of NSA in 2017.
• Agreements on Services and Investment.
• Closer cooperation in disaster management
o Joint exercises, sharing of information including early warning system, adoption of
preventive measures, joint action on relief and rehabilitation, and capacity building.
• Tourism: Buddhist Tourist Circuit and Temple Tourist Circuit within the region.

Criticism
• India’s engagement with them has been mostly episodic and ad hoc. We have not created the
capacity to engage with our neighbours on a sustained basis and at multiple levels.
• Indian dilemma - The connectivity platform also opens the door to China selling its ambitious
OBOR initiative.
• Delivery Deficit - India’s own resources are limited, but more than that its record of delivery on
commitments continues to be abysmal.
• Shyam Saran: Same projects reappearing as “fresh initiatives” in serial joint statements over
recent years. Our capacities and institutions continue to lag behind our ambitions. It is time to
move from an event-oriented to a process-driven approach.

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BIMSTEC vs SAARC – A Comparison.

Way Forward
Amb. Rajiv Bhatia - It is wise to learn walking before trying to fly.
• Forge practical cooperation in six areas, to start with: trade and investment, connectivity, energy,
tourism, counter-terrorism, and Blue Economy.
• Security challenges must be addressed through a realistic programme, but the grouping’s principal
focus must remain on social and economic development.
• BIMSTEC needs to produce a few visible results or successes in the short term. Concluding the
protracted negotiations for a FTA in goods, and later, services, and investment, is the way forward.
Without an appropriate FTA, the grouping will continue to be perceived as an empty shell.

Amb. Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty: BIMSTEC must now move into a rapid implementation stage, for which
the necessary resources should be injected into the Dhaka-based secretariat. It will be prudent to divert
resources from less critical areas to BIMSTEC to realise its undisputed potential as a subregional
organisation and a strategic vehicle for India’s foreign-policy goals.

BIMSTEC has been “innovative but under-performing.”

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