BIMSTEC – Significance & Challenges – Explained Pointwise

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organization that was established on 06 June 1997 with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration. 

Introduction:

• Initially known as BIST-EC (Bangladesh-India-Sri Lanka-Thailand Economic Cooperation), the organization is now known as BIMSTEC. 
• It comprises seven Member States with the admission of Myanmar on 22 December 1997, and Bhutan and Nepal in February 2004. It is headquartered at Dhaka, Bangladesh. 
• It not only connects South and Southeast Asia, but also the ecologies of the Great Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal. It aims to create an enabling environment for economic development; accelerate social progress and promote collaboration on matters of common interest in the region.
• Aim: To create an enabling environment for economic development; accelerate social progress and promote collaboration on matters of common interest in the region.
• Significance: Nearly 1.5 billion people or 22% of the global population comes under the BIMSTEC. Together, it has a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of $2.7 trillion.

Key Organs of BIMSTEC:

1. BIMSTEC Summit: The highest decision-making body, comprising heads of state or government from member countries.
2. Ministerial Meetings: Focused on specific sectors such as trade, energy, and transportation.
3. Senior Officials’ Meetings (SOM): Prepare agendas and facilitate coordination.
4. BIMSTEC Secretariat: Located in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the Secretariat oversees day-to-day activities and implements decisions.

Achievements of BIMSTEC:

1. BIMSTEC Centre for Weather and Climate: The Memorandum of Association (MoA) on the establishment of this centre was signed in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar on 4 March 2014 at the Third BIMSTEC Summit. Currently the BIMSTEC Centre for Weather and Climate Change functions from the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India.
2. BIMSTEC Energy Centre (BEC): The First BIMSTEC Energy Ministers Conference held on 04 October 2005, agreed to the setting up of a BIMSTEC Energy Centre (BEC). It aims to share experience in reforms, restructuring, regulation and best practice in the energy sector.
3. The BIMSTEC Permanent Secretariat was opened in 2014 at Dhaka. It helps in better management of regional issues.
4. BIMSTEC Permanent Working Committee (BPWC) to deal with administrative and financial matters of the Secretariat was set up post the 4th Kathmandu summit of 2018.
5. BIMSTEC convention on cooperation in combating international terrorism, transnational organised crime and illicit drug trafficking has come into force in March 2021. It encourages data sharing and intelligence gathering on criminal activities.

Significance of BIMSTEC:

1. Huge untapped potential: A study by the Asian Development Bank has identified 167 projects within the BIMSTEC region that can boost connectivity. However, the grouping has to date only focused on 66 of them. The remaining have not yet received enough attention.
2. Alternative to SAARC: South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has largely become defunct because of differences between New Delhi and Islamabad.
3. Strategic Location: The Bay region is a key transit route between the Indian and the Pacific Oceans. Therefore BIMSTEC as a grouping can help in ensuring freedom of navigation in the waters. It can also help in harnessing and sharing the Bay’s natural wealth.
4. Combating the web of uncertainties: The institution can help member states tackle future uncertainties that will arise due to climate change, COVID – 19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine conflict.
5. Tackling Security Challenges: Members of the grouping face several traditional and non-traditional security challenges that can be duly addressed with enhanced cooperation.
6. Development of North East: BIMSTEC can boost the development of the northeast region by providing greater interaction with Bangladesh and Myanmar. For instance, the master plan of connectivity includes the India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway and Kolkata-Siliguri-Guwahati-Imphal link.
7. Better cooperation with ASEAN: India has already come out of RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) agreement that may hinder its trade potential. Therefore a more robust cooperation with Thailand and Myanmar can help in resolving India – ASEAN differences and ensure better implementation of ‘Act East Policy’. For instance, the BIMSTEC master plan will also promote synergy with other connectivity frameworks such as the ASEAN master plan on connectivity 2025.
8. Countering China: BIMSTEC can help in countering China’s Cheque Book diplomacy. Further, it can strengthen India’s position as a responsible regional power in the Indo-Pacific.

Challenges faced by BIMSTEC:

1. Stalemate on Agreements: The Free Trade Agreement (FTA), coastal shipping agreement and motor vehicles agreement have undergone numerous negotiations but no consensus is developed over them.
2. Priority to Bilateralism: The focus remains primarily on enhancing bilateral ties, with multilateralism yet to gain ground despite common ecological concerns and a shared past.
3. Big brother attitude: Allegations are made on India for playing a dominant role in the organization and neglecting the agendas of small states.
4. Irregularity in working: The summits are not held on regular intervals and slow pace is observed in working. For instance, it took almost 17 years to establish a permanent secretariat.
5. Preference to other organizations: Countries like Myanmar and Thailand show more enthusiasm towards ASEAN and neglects the vision of BIMSTEC.
6. Resource Deficit: Lack of adequate financial and manpower resources is impairing the performance of the body. Although, India is the largest contributor and contributes annually about 32% of the budget.

Way forward:

1. Economic development: The members must accelerate our efforts to boost intra BIMSTEC trade and economic ties. They should focus on developing a network of regional supply chains that will reduce our vulnerability to external shocks and give their economies greater resilience and transparency.
2. Disaster resilience: India must encourage other member states to consider joining the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). This will enhance disaster cooperation as all the BIMSTEC members live in one of the most disaster prone regions of the world.
3. Controlling Transnational Organised Crime: The member states cannot ignore the challenges that transnational crime, terrorism, violent extremism or indeed new challenges such as cyber-attacks, pose to them. Considering this, they need to put in place the remaining elements of the legal architecture that will enable their law enforcement agencies to collaborate more closely and more effectively.
4. Institutional Hedging: the group should move forward by doing ‘institutional hedging’. This means focus should be on developing collective soft as well as hard power for the group. Thereby  protecting individual interests and shaping up a regional order that works for all the members involved.
5. India’s Role: India should project itself as a compatriot and an equal partner to other BIMSTEC member-countries. This will help reduce its trust deficit and ensure better integration in the region.

Conclusion: BIMSTEC over the years has emerged as a promising sub-regional grouping with growing strategic and economic interests of the member states as well as of the international community in the Bay of Bengal region. India remains committed to further building the momentum of regional cooperation under the BIMSTEC framework and make the organization stronger, vibrant, more effective and result-oriented.