Q. Consider the following statements in respect of BIMSTEC
I. It is a regional organization consisting of seven member States till January 2025.
II. It came into existence with the signing of the Dhaka Declaration, 1999.
III. Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Nepal are founding member States of BIMSTEC.
IV. In BIMSTEC, the subsector of ‘tourism’ is being led by India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Exp) Option d is the correct answer.
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a multilateral regional organisation established with the aim of accelerating shared growth and cooperation between littoral and adjacent countries in the Bay of Bengal region.
Statement 1 is correct. Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional forum of seven member countries.
BIMSTEC forum brings together five countries in South Asia (Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka) and two in South East Asia (Myanmar and Thailand).
BIMSTEC includes countries of the Bay of Bengal region and seeks to act as a bridge between South and Southeast Asia.
Statement 2 is incorrect. BIMSTEC was originally formed as BIST-EC in June 1997. It was founded as BIST-EC, in June 1997, with the adoption of the Bangkok Declaration.
Statement 3 is incorrect. Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand are founding members of this organisation. It was originally formed as BIST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation) in 1997. It became BIMST-EC after Myanmar joined it in 1997 itself. It became BIMSTEC in 2004 with the joining of Nepal and Bhutan. Nepal joined in 2004.
Statement 4 is incorrect. BIMSTEC is different from other regional groupings such as SAARC or ASEAN in a sense that it is a sector-driven organisation. This means the goals or areas of cooperation are divided between members. At the 5th Summit, the Leaders endorsed reorganization of priority areas/pillars of cooperation into seven priority areas / pillars, with each priority areas led by one Member country. India is the Lead Country for Security pillar under which there are three sub-sectors – Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC), Disaster Management and Energy Security.
The remaining priority areas / pillars and their Lead Countries are – Trade, Investment and
Development (Bangladesh); Environment and Climate Change (Bhutan); People-to-People
Contacts- Sub-sectors: Culture; Tourism; People-to-People Contact (Nepal); Agriculture and Food Security (Myanmar); Science, Technology and Innovation (Sri Lanka) and Connectivity (Thailand).
Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/this-word-means-bimstec-9923012/
https://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/ForeignRelation/India-BIMSTE-2025.pdf
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