Explainer: What is BIMSTEC's importance for India
A few days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's attendance at the sixth BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) summit in Bangkok, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told select parliamentarians that the grouping was now serving as a primary platform for regional cooperation.
Jaishankar's remarks at the first meeting of the parliamentary consultative committee for external affairs came in the context of questions about the future of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC), which remains indefinitely suspended since 2016, and an assertive China.
It was in 2016, in the wake of the Uri terror attack, that India pulled out of the SAARC Summit scheduled to be held in Islamabad.
Subsequently, Afghanistan, Bhutan, and Bangladesh also withdrew. With SAARC still suspended, BIMSTEC has emerged as a preferred platform for regional cooperation in South Asia.
Though BIMSTEC was founded in 1997, greater heft to the grouping came after 2016 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited BIMSTEC countries for a Leaders’ Retreat in Goa in 2016 on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.
Thereafter, Modi continued strengthening the grouping and, through it, regional cooperation in the Bay of Bengal region. In 2019, BIMSTEC leaders were invited to Delhi for Modi's swearing-in ceremony as prime minister for a second term.
Since then, it has integrated well with India's Neighborhood First policy, Act East policy, MAHASAGAR vision, and vision for the Indo-Pacific. This convergence of policies enunciated by India creates new synergies and benefits for the member countries. This synergy is significant given South Asia's importance in the world.
The region houses nearly 21% of the global population and stretches from the Himalayas in the north to the strategic Indian Ocean in the south. India's role in nurturing BIMSTEC is also evident from the fact that, though its secretariat was set up some time back, a meaningful push to the organization from an institutional perspective came after the adoption of its charter in May 2024.
This gave BIMSTEC an international personality, established its guiding principles, and basic institutional architecture. India appointed Indra Mani Pandey, a seasoned diplomat with vast experience of multilateral work, as Secretary General. These developments brought new energy, purpose, and action to the group's work. India has also been focused on institution and capacity building in the region and has granted USD 1 million to the BIMSTEC Secretariat for this purpose. In July 2024, India hosted the BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers Meeting. It also hosted an informal meeting of BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers on the sidelines of the UNGA in September 2024 in New York.
Official sources point to the expansion of the BIMSTEC agenda under India's leadership and direction. BIMSTEC's area of work has been categorised into seven segments, with each country leading one - India leads the security vertical.
The other verticals are Trade, Investment and Development (Bangladesh), Environment and Climate (Bhutan), Agriculture and Food Security (Myanmar), People to People (Nepal), Science, Technology and Innovation (Sri Lanka), and Connectivity (Thailand).
Sources say India's focus in BIMSTEC, as articulated by PM Modi in his remarks at the sixth summit in Thailand, is to promote regional integration for the larger global good. "As lead of the security vertical, India has worked to create a strong legal framework to fight terrorism, violent extremism, and transnational crimes in the region.
India has placed special emphasis to enhance connectivity, physical, digital, and energy. India hosts the BIMSTEC Energy Centre in Bengaluru. The Centre coordinates the work towards creating a BIMSTEC regional grid interconnection. This is in line with PM's One World, One Sun, One Grid vision," official sources said.
On sustainability and disaster management, India is working to help BIMSTEC contribute towards the global sustainability agenda and regularly hosts disaster management exercises among member countries.
"This aspect of the group's collaborative work has been highly resonant due to the region's vulnerability to natural disasters," says an official. India also hosts the BIMSTEC Centre for Weather and Climate in Noida. Further, under India's leadership, BIMSTEC has witnessed activities to promote people-to-people ties and foster regional integration. Some recent activities in this segment have been -- BIMSTEC Aquatic championship in February 2024 in Delhi; BIMSTEC Business Summit in August 2024 in Delhi; BIMSTEC Cultural troupe's participation in Bali Jatra in Cuttack in November 2024; BIMSTEC Pavilion in Surajkund Mela in February 2025; BIMSTEC Youth Summit in Ahmedabad in February 2025; BIMSTEC Youth-led Climate Change Conference in Delhi in February 2025, and BIMSTEC-India Marine Research Network launched in February 2024. The BIMSTEC, established in 1997, stands as a pivotal organization fostering regional cooperation between South and Southeast Asia, comprising seven member states, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
