BIMSTEC

BIMSTEC : Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) comprising Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand.

• 21% of the world population (1.5 billion people), GDP US$ 2.5 trillion + .
• Established in 6 June 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration.
• BIMSTEC headquarters is located in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
• Member Countries = 7 [ South Asia =5, (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka), Southeast Asia (Myanmar and Thailand) ]
• Initially, Formed with four member states with the acronym 'BIST-EC' ( Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation) in Bangkok in June 1997. Myanmar was admitted in Dec 1997 and the group was renamed as 'BIMST-EC'.
• In Feb 2004, Nepal and Bhutan were admitted and the grouping's name  was changed to 'BIMSTEC'. 

Areas of Cooperation
Priority areas where a member country takes lead.

• India is lead country for

1. Transport & Communication,

2. Tourism,

3. Environment & Disaster Management and

4. Counter Terrorism & Transnational Crime.

• Bangladesh

5. Trade and Investment

6. Climate Change

• Bhutan

7. Cultural Cooperation

• Myanmar

8. Energy (Bio-Fuels)

9. Agriculture

• Nepal

10. Poverty Alleviation

• Sri Lanka

11. Technology

• Thailand

12. Fisheries

13. Public Health

14. People-to-People Contact 

Objectives -

1. To creating an enabling environment for the rapid economic development in the sub-region.
2. To encourage the spirit of equality and partnership.
3. To promote active collaboration and mutual assistance on the matters of common interests of the member countries.
4. To accelerate support for other is the  fields of education, science and technology etc.
5. To maintain close and cooperate in projects with similar existing aims and purposes.

Principles -
Cooperation within BIMSTEC will be based on

1. Respect for the principle of sovereign equality,
2. Territorial integrity,
3. Political independence,
4. No interference in Internal affairs,
5. Peaceful co-existence and mutual benefit.

Note : Neighborhood First, Act East (Connect India with Southeast Asia), Economic development of India's northeastern states. BIMSTEC came togather after the financial crisis. Moribund Nature of SAARC - (died Organisation). BBIN - Bangladesh Bhutan  India and Nepal. Connectivity project of Bangladesh, Bhutan , India, and Nepal → Port connectivity, infrastructure projects. Free trade  agreement singed among the BIMSTEC countries. Infrastructure - Basic physical organizational structure facility (Buildings, roads, power supply) needed for the operation of the Society. The Bay of  Bengal has enormous significance from the Security point of view. Kaladan Multimodal Project - links India and Myanmar. Asian Trilateral Highway - Connecting India and Thailand through Myanmar. Institutional Talks -  BIMSTEC Summit, Ministerial meeting, Senior officials meeting, BIMSTEC working group, Business Forum & Economic Forum. 

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