Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a two-day visit to Thailand on April 3-4 to attend the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit. During the upcoming session of the BIMSTEC, the regional grouping is likely to adopt the Bangkok Vision 2030 and sign a pact to strengthen maritime cooperation. While Thailand is currently grappling with the damage caused in the country, the BIMSTEC summit scheduled from April 2 to April 4 will proceed as planned, and there will be no change in the schedule.
In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) earlier said, "We are in touch with authorities on this. There is nothing at the moment to indicate, either way, whether it is going to have any effect on the summit."
What to expect from upcoming BIMSTEC summit?
The MEA said that at the Bangkok summit, the BIMSTEC leaders are likely to deliberate on ways and means to infuse greater momentum in cooperation among the member nations.
The theme for this year's summit is "Proactive, Resilient and Open BIMSTEC (PRO-BIMSTEC)". The Bangkok Vision 2030 is expected to set a clear direction and goals for cooperation and promote the region as an area of peace, stability and economic sustainability. The vision will also dwell on enhancing cooperation on adaptation to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
About BIMSTEC
Besides India and Thailand, the BIMSTEC comprises Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan. Along with PM Modi and Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the summit is expected to be attended by Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Bangladesh's Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus and Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya.
Established in 1997 as a regional cooperation platform, it was initially known as BIST-EC (Bangladesh-India-Sri Lanka-Thailand Economic Cooperation). The organisation is now known as BIMSTEC and comprises seven member states with the admission of Myanmar on December 22, 1997, and Bhutan and Nepal in February 2004.
Institutional evolution of BIMSTEC
The institutional evolution of BIMSTEC has been gradual. After the Third BIMSTEC Summit in 2014, the BIMSTEC Secretariat was established in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Initially, BIMSTEC focused on cooperation in six sectors, including trade, technology, energy, transport, tourism, and fisheries.
In 2008, its agenda was expanded to incorporate agriculture, public health, poverty alleviation, counter-terrorism, environment, culture, people-to-people contact, and climate change.
India has always taken the position that BIMSTEC remains at the heart of its Neighbourhood First, Act East, and Sagarmala policies.
(With agency inputs)