On 30th March 2022, Narendra Modi, Prime Minister(PM) of India participated in and addressed the 5th BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Summit hosted in virtual mode by Sri Lanka, the chair of BIMSTEC from September 2018 to March 2022.
- 2022 marks the 25th year of the establishment of BIMSTEC.
Summit Theme:
The theme of the 5th BIMSTEC Summit was “Towards a Resilient Region, Prosperous Economies, Healthy People”.
- The theme highlights the current priorities of the member states and the efforts of BIMSTEC in developing cooperation activities that support the member state programmes to face the economic and development consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Note: Prior to the 5th BIMSTEC Summit, preparatory meetings at the Senior Official and Foreign Minister levels were held in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 28th & 29th March in the hybrid mode.
Thailand will assume the chairmanship of BIMSTEC for 2022 – 2023 & Prime Minister (PM) of Thailand Prayut Chan-o-cha the incoming chair of BIMSTEC took over the Chairmanship of BIMSTEC on 30th March 2022.
Participants:
BIMSTEC member countries: India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal, Bhutan, and the BIMSTEC Secretariat.
Main Outcomes of the summit:
i.The main outcome of the summit was the adoption and signing of the BIMSTEC Charter, which formalised the grouping into an organisation made up of members states that are littoral to, and dependent upon, the Bay of Bengal.
ii.BIMSTEC rationalised its sectors of cooperation and adopted a Charter for the first time, since its inception in 1997.
Key Points:
i.The summit also witnessed the considerable progress being achieved in the BIMSTEC connectivity agenda with the adoption of the ‘Master Plan for Transport Connectivity’, which lays out a guidance framework for connectivity-related activities in the region in the future.
ii.During the summit 3 BIMSTEC agreements, which represent progress being achieved in ongoing cooperation activities, were signed,
- BIMSTEC Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters;
- BIMSTEC Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) on Mutual Cooperation in the field of Diplomatic Training and
- Memorandum of Association(MoA) on Establishment of BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility.
Cooperation activities of BIMSTEC:
The Cooperation activities of BIMSTEC will take place in 7 sectors and each sector will be led by one of the member states.
India will lead the Security sector and Sub-sectors of Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime, Disaster Management, and Energy.
Highlights of PM Modi’s address:
i.PM Modi highlighted the importance of enhanced BIMSTEC regional connectivity, cooperation and security, and made several suggestions in this regard.
ii.He also called upon the leaders to strive to transform the Bay of Bengal into a Bridge of Connectivity, Prosperity, and Security among the BIMSTEC-member countries.
iii.He also announced that India is working on extending and expanding the scope of the BIMSTEC scholarship program offered by the Nalanda International University and signed a treaty on mutual legal assistance on criminal matters.
India to provide USD 1 million to BIMSTEC to increase its operational budget
While addressing the 5th BIMSTEC Summit, PM Modi announced that India will provide USD 1 million to the BIMSTEC secretariat to increase its operational budget.
The announcement was made in the backdrop of making early progress on the proposal of the BIMSTEC Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to enhance mutual business.
Recent Related News:
On September 9, 2021, the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi chaired the 13th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) Summit 2021 virtually on the theme ‘BRICS@15: Intra-BRICS Cooperation for Continuity, Consolidation and Consensus’.
- The summit saw the adoption of the ‘New Delhi Declaration’.
About Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC):
Established in 1997
Members– 7 members (India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Thailand)
