News: The first BIMReN biennial conference was held in Kochi from 4–6 November 2025.
About BIMSTEC-India Marine Research Network (BIMReN)
- It is a platform for facilitating collaboration among the researchers in the Bay of Bengal Region, for sustainable development of blue economy by networking the researchers in the BIMSTEC Member Countries.
- Announcement: It was announced by India at the 2022 Colombo BIMSTEC Summit.
- Launched in: It was launched in 2024.
- Nodal Ministry: It was by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of India.
- Aligns With: It aligns with India’s Neighbourhood First, Act East, Indo-Pacific, and MAHASAGAR strategies.
- Focused on: It focuses on marine challenges, ecosystem health, research innovations, building young researchers’ networks, effective marine resource management, and harmonious policy development.
- Purpose: It enables institutional collaborations through twinning research grants and split-site PhD fellowships linking leading Indian institutions with those in other BIMSTEC countries.
- First conference: India hosted the first biennial conference in Kochi on 4–6 November 2025.
- Significance : BIMReN’s has connected 25 institutions and over 50 researchers, reinforcing India’s commitment to sustainable fisheries in the Bay of Bengal, which accounts for 6% of the world’s fish catch and hosts over one-third of the world’s fishing fleet.
