Bay of Bengal nations to strengthen cooperation at BIMSTEC summit in Thailand

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit, scheduled for April 4 in Thailand's Bangkok, will witness a Maritime Transport Cooperation agreement aimed at expanding maritime transport between the member states.

Besides, at the summit, BIMSTEC would also sign Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs) with the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

As per the official readout issued from the BIMSTEC Secretariat in Bangladesh's Dhaka, the summit would witness the signing of the agreement on Maritime Transport Cooperation, which is aimed at expanding maritime transport in the Bay of Bengal with a view to enhancing the transport of cargo as well as people, enabling more trade and travel among the member states.

It would also see the signing of the Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) between BIMSTEC and IORA, and another between BIMSTEC and UNODC.

The 6th BIMSTEC summit would be held under the theme "PRO BIMSTEC: Prosperous, Resilient and Open BIMSTEC" and would see the participation of the heads of government of the member states of the grouping.

BIMSTEC comprises seven countries of the Bay of Bengal region, including India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

The grouping pursues regional cooperation in seven broad sectors: agriculture and food security, connectivity, environment and climate change; people-to-people contact; science, technology, and innovation; security and trade; investment and development.

The cooperation also covers eight sub-sectors: blue economy, mountain economy, energy, disaster management, fisheries and livestock, poverty alleviation, health, and human resource development.

The summit would be preceded by a meeting of BIMSTEC senior officials on April 2 and a meeting of BIMSTEC Foreign Affairs Ministers of the member nations on April 3.

The agenda of the summit includes the adoption of the declaration of the 6th BIMSTEC Summit, which will reflect the vision of the leaders as well as their decisions and directives.

It also includes the adoption of the Bangkok Vision 2030—the first vision document that will be adopted by the leaders with a comprehensive and practical roadmap for future cooperation among the BIMSTEC member states.

Also, during the summit, there will be the adoption of the rules of procedure for the BIMSTEC mechanisms and the adoption of the report of the Eminent Persons Group on the Future Direction of BIMSTEC.