Context:

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit at the end of this year will adopt a Bangkok vision 2030.

Image Credits: The Hindu

Background:

• It was founded as BIST-EC, in June 1997, with the adoption of the Bangkok Declaration, with Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand as members. 
• It became BIMST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation) with the entry of Myanmar in late 1997,
• And eventually, it was named in its current form, when Nepal and Bhutan became members in 2004.

About BIMSTEC:

• BIMSTEC is a multilateral regional organization established with the aim of accelerating shared growth and cooperation between littoral and adjacent countries in the Bay of Bengal region.
• Secretariat: Dhaka, Bangladesh.
• Membership: It has a total of seven member countries:
  • Five from South Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka;
  • Two from Southeast Asia, including Myanmar and Thailand.

Founding Principles of the BIMSTEC:

• Principle of sovereign equality
• Territorial integrity
• Political independence
• Non-interference in internal affairs
• Peaceful coexistence and mutual benefit

Why was BIMSTEC created?

• The Bay of Bengal region was one of the world’s most integrated regions until the early twentieth century, according to a 2020 research paper by Constantino Xavier and Riya Sinha.
• But after the 1940s, when members of the region became independent and pursued separate goals and alliance systems, “the region’s sense of community has almost completely eroded.
• So, the aim of setting up the regional grouping was not to create a new region for cooperation but to revive the connectivity and common interests of the members of the Bay of Bengal region.

What makes BIMSTEC different from other regional groupings such as SAARC or ASEAN?

• Unlike SAARC or ASEAN, BIMSTEC is a sector-driven organisation.
• This means the goals or areas of cooperation are divided between members.
  • For Example: Out of the multiple sectors like trade, energy, transport, fishery, security, culture, tourism and so on, India was made responsible for areas like transportation, tourism and Counter-Terrorism earlier.

Working Mechanism of BIMSTEC:

• Under BIMSTEC, Policy making would be done through two types of meetings: 
  • Summits, which are supposed to be held every two years; 
  • Ministerial meetings of Foreign and Commerce Ministers of member countries for deciding on trade and economic affairs, to be held once every year. 
• An operational meeting of senior officials to monitor the activities of the grouping is also supposed to be held twice a year.
• BIMSTEC Working Group: BIMSTEC has a coordinating body called the BIMSTEC Working Group, which has a rotating chairman based on which member country chairs the organisation. 
  • Under this, meetings are to be held monthly at the Dhaka secretariat to review the progress of the regional grouping.
• Business Forum & Economic Forum: It ensures active participation of the private sector.

Challenges: 

• Inconsistent Meets: Since its inception, BIMSTEC’s policy making meetings have not been held as per plan. Just five summits, including the current one, have been held in 25 years. 
  • Meanwhile, 18 ministerial meets have taken place so far; and between 2014 and 2017, the Senior Officials meet was postponed seven times.
• Sluggish Pace: Lack of efficiency and “sluggish” pace of BIMSTEC’s progress. 
• Financial & Human Resources Crunch: BIMSTEC secretariat also suffers from inadequate financial and manpower assistance for its operational activities.
• India’s Selective Interest: Another criticism is India’s selective interest in BIMSTEC each time SAARC is hamstrung due to Pakistan.
• Lack of Free Trade Agreement: BIMSTEC members have not adopted a Free Trade Agreement yet, they are involved in multiple bilateral and multilateral free trade, preferential trade and economic cooperation agreements with other countries.

Significance:

• Bridge between South and South-East Asia: The regional group constitutes a bridge between South and South East Asia and represents a reinforcement of relations among these countries.
• Combined GDP and Population: The BIMSTEC region hosts 22% of the world population or 1.68 billion people; and the member states have a combined GDP of US$3.697 trillion/per year.
• Aligns With ‘Act East Policy’: For India, BIMSTEC aligns with its ‘Act East’ policy for greater regional cooperation in southeast Asia. 
• Important for the Indian Ocean Prominence:  It could also be seen as aligning with India’s larger goal to gain trade and security prominence in the Indian Ocean region.
• Trade Potential: BIMSTEC is important owing to the land and maritime trade potential of the member countries.

Conclusion:

• As the need and interest for a functional regional organisation grows amongst the Bay of Bengal countries to address emerging economic and security concerns, the time is ripe for BIMSTEC to carve its niche in the region. 
• This is even more crucial as the Bay of Bengal region will continue to be more critical to the strategic contours of the emerging global order, and the centres of gravity of global politics and economics shift to the Indo-Pacific. 
• Ultimately though, for the revived BIMSTEC grouping to realise its trade and economic potential, India will have to take a leadership role in assuaging any apprehensions among the smaller members of intragroup power imbalances and strive to facilitate greater cross-border connectivity and flow of investments by lowering barriers to the movement of people and goods.

News Source: The Hindu