BIMSTEC summit hosted by Nepal 2018
Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation(BIMSTEC)
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organisation of seven nations of South Asia and South East Asia, housing 1.5 billion people and having a combined gross domestic product of $3.5 trillion (2018). The BIMSTEC member states—Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan, and Nepal 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).
Leadership is rotated in alphabetical order of country names. The permanent secretariat is in Dhaka.
Background
On June 6, 1997, a new sub-regional grouping was formed in Bangkok under the name BIST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand Economic Cooperation). On 22 December 1997, Myanmar became a full member, resulting in the renaming of the grouping to BIMST-EC. In 1998, Nepal became an observer. In February 2004, Nepal and Bhutan became full members.On July 31, 2004, in the first Summit the grouping was renamed as BIMSTEC or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation.
Objective
The 14 main objective of BIMSTEC is technological and economic cooperation among south Asian and southeast Asian countries along the coast of the bay of Bengal. Commerce, Investment, Technology, Tourism, Human Resource Development, Agriculture, Fisheries, Transport and Communication, Textiles, Leather etc. have been included in it. Provide cooperation to one another for the provision of training and research facilities in educational vocational and technical fields. Promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in economic,social ,technical and scientific fields of common interest.Member nations
| Countries | Leader Position | Head of government | Head of state | Population (2016)[12] | GDP (nominal) | World Bank | SAARC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bangladesh
|
Prime minister | Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh | Abdul Hamid, President of Bangladesh | 162,951,560 | $285.8 bn | ✔ | ✔ |
 Bhutan
|
Prime minister | Dasho Tshering Wangchuk, Prime Minister of Bhutan | Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, King of Bhutan | 797,765 | $2.2 bn | ✔ | ✔ |
 India
|
Prime minister | Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India | Ram Nath Kovind, President of India | 1,324,171,354 | $2308.0 bn | ✔ | ✔ |
 Myanmar
|
President | Win Myint, President of Myanmar | 52,885,223 | $68.277 bn | ✔ | ✖ | |
 Nepal
|
Prime minister | KP Oli, Prime Minister of Nepal | Bidhya Devi Bhandari, President of Nepal | 28,982,771 | $27.4 bn | ✔ | ✔ |
 Sri Lanka
|
President | Ranil Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka | Maithripala Sirisena, President of Sri Lanka | 20,798,492 | $80.4 bn | ✔ | ✔ |
 Thailand
|
Prime minister | Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of Thailand | King Vajiralongkorn (Rama X), King of Thailand | 68,863,514 | $409.724 bn | ✔ | ✖ |
BIMSTEC priority sectors
14 priority areas have been identified with the lead nations appointed to lead the effort:[3][6][13]| Priority Area | Lead Country | Centre | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transport and communication | India | ||
| Tourism | India | BIMSTEC Information Centre, Delhi | |
| Counterterrorism and transnational crime | India | Four subgroups: Intelligence sharing - Sri Lanka (lead), Terror financing - Thailand, Legal - Myanmar, Law enforcement and narcotics - Myanmar | |
| Environment and disaster management | India | Tsunami Warning Centre, Noida | |
| Energy | Myanmar | BIMSTEC Energy Centre, Bengaluru | BIMSTEC Grid Interconnection MoU signed in 2014.[14][15] |
| Public Health | Thailand | BIMSTEC Network of Traditional Medicine in India | |
| Agriculture | Myanmar | ||
| Trade & Investment | Bangladesh | ||
| Technology | Sri Lanka | ||
| Fisheries | Thailand | ||
| Poverty Alleviation | Nepal | ||
| People-to-People Contact | Thailand | ||
| Climate Change | Bangladesh | ||
| Cultural Cooperation | Bhutan | 1200 ITEC scholarships by India |
BIMSTEC Summits
| No. | Date | Host country | Host city |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 31 July 2004 | Thailand
|
Bangkok |
| 2nd | 13 November 2008 | India
|
New Delhi |
| 3rd | 4 March 2014 | Myanmar
|
Nay Pyi Daw |
| 4th | 30, 31 Aug 2018 | Nepal
|
Kathmandu |
| 5th | TBD | Sri Lanka
|
Colombo |
Fourth BIMSTEC Summit concludes with 18-point Kathmandu Declaration
The head of states and government of BIMSTEC member states pose for a
group
photo after concluding the fourth BIMSTEC Summit started from
Thursday in Kathmandu.
During the meet, Nepal stressed on the need of coming up with plans for development and prosperity keeping the countries facing consequences of climate change and landlocked ones at the center.
Talking to media persons following the Summit, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, said a task force would work to formulate a master plan for the expansion of connectivity in the region. The Asian Development Bank would assist to that end. “Expansion of connectivity remains a foundation of the BIMSTEC and it will be made through the implementation of a master plan once the task force completes its work,” he said.
The Minister further said the member states had promised to contribute to the BIMSTEC Development Fund as per their capacity and the Fund would be used to implement research-based and pilot projects. “Nepal is the place of origin of Buddhism and Nepal has its concern over the proposed Buddha Circuit.”
In his reply to journalists’ query as to why the issues of Rakhine State in Myanmar missed in the agenda of discussions during the Summit when its member states had come up with collective commitments against terrorism, he said, ” The objective of formation of the BIMSTEC is for serving common interests and concerns and internal issue of any particular country or a dispute between certain two countries did not enter the Summit.” As he said, making the BIMSTEC activities more effective and organizing the Summit in every two years would be the insistence of Nepal in the days ahead.
In his response to the issues of Bhutanese refugee, the Foreign Minister said currently Bhutan has the interim government and it was already apprised that the Nepal would raise the issues once it got a new elected government.
On the sidelines of the Summit, Prime Minister KP Oli and heads of the states/governments of BIMSTEC countries held separate meetings and discussed the bilateral interests and common concerns. PM Oli held separate meetings with the heads of the states/governments of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand and India.
An agreement on railway connectivity between Nepal and India is due to be signed while PM Oli is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with the Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Saturday, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nepal.
Earlier, President Bidya Devi Bhandari held a joint meeting with the top-leaders of the BIMSTEC member nations on Friday morning.
During the bilateral meetings, Thailand side assured that the medical equipment and other support amounting to Rs 170 million pledged by the Thai government during the Gorkha Earthquake in 2015 would be handed over to the Nepal government soon.
Thai Prime Minister had apprised Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on the same during the bilateral meeting.
An 18-point Declaration was issued in the closing of the two-day summit that commenced on Thursday.
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