After seven months from its initial plan, Thailand is going to host the 6th Summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative of Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) on 3-4 April, which has created a regional geo-political buzz. The summit’s outcomes and sideline meetings in Bangkok will be vital for cross-regional cooperation in this Bay of Bengal region. 

Earlier, the summit, which was supposed to be held on 3-4 September 2024, was postponed due to political turbulence in Thailand after the removal of the then Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin by the Constitutional Court. Interestingly, the youngest Prime Minister of Thailand Paetongtarn Shinawatra, a member of the Shinawatra political family, will host the event. She is going to welcome senior leaders of South Asian and Southeast Asian leaders including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, Chief Advisor of the Interim Government of Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus, and other prominent leaders of the member states.

BIMSTEC, widely known as the bridge between South Asian and Southeast Asian counties, has seven members. This regional organisation took shape when four countries around the Bay of Bengal, namely Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand, came together in 1997 to work for fostering economic and development partnerships. Later, the organisation expanded with three new members -- Myanmar, Bhutan and Nepal. BIMSTEC was established in 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration and the 1st summit was held in Bangkok in 2004. After 20 years, Thailand is welcoming the members in their home again.  

From the beginning of its establishment, BIMSTEC was accused of replacing another regional organisation called SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation). SAARC was established in 1985 whereas BIMSTEC was formed 10 years later in 1997. India-Pakistan’s long-standing conflict has put SAARC in limbo whereas BIMSTEC -- which has excluded three SAARC members Pakistan, Maldives and Afghanistan -- is getting momentum. The perfect example of this is the frequent summits held by BIMSTEC. We have already witnessed two BIMSTEC summits (4th and 5th) after the 3rd summit held in 2014 in Myanmar. And the 6th BIMSTEC summit is going to be held in a few days. On the other hand, after the 18th SAARC summit held in 2014 in Nepal, the 19th SAARC Summit scheduled to be held in Pakistan back in 2016 got cancelled.

The BIMSTEC has grown fast in the last 10 years because of active participation of all the members. That’s why, the BIMSTEC Charter was signed and adopted during the 5th BIMSTEC Summit in March 2022 which was held virtually in Colombo, Sri Lanka. And the charter was made effective from May 20, 2024 by all the member states. Interestingly, the Charter was introduced after 24 years of the establishment of the regional organisation. The Charter of BIMSTEC clearly states that 'cooperation within the BIMSTEC will be complementary to and not be a substitute for bilateral, sub-regional, regional or multilateral cooperation involving the member states.”

In this world, regional cooperation is essential. Through the BIMSTEC, the member states could work in the sectors like development, economic integration, trade facilitation, energy cooperation, climate change, technology and innovation, and try to improve historical and cultural ties.

In September last year in New York, there was an informal meeting of the foreign ministers of BIMSTEC held during the sidelines of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. On 27 September, the meeting was hosted by India’s external affairs minister S. Jaishankar. More importantly, it was the first ever sideline event of BIMSTEC’s foreign ministers in New York during the UNGA. The meeting took stock of the close cooperation in health, food security, climate change, security, trade and investment and energy sector.

Raj Kishore Yadav, Chairman, Nepal’s Parliamentary Committee on International Relations and Tourism, who is also going to attend the sideline event of BIMSTEC in Bangkok, commented that we cannot walk alone to achieve our common dream, rather we should collaborate with our regional partners to achieve our common goals. He added, "BIMSTEC is a vital regional organisation to link South Asia and Southeast Asia. We need to leverage this cooperation for the sake of our people and the countries."

Moreover, N.P. Saud, former foreign minister and a lawmaker from Nepal, stated that Nepal has worked together to cope with problems in this region and we need to collaborate more effectively in future. He added, "The Bay of Bengal is one of the important regions in this world. So, collaboration and regional integration is vital in this region. Nepal has been an active member of BIMSTEC till now and this is our commitment that we will engage more and more in the coming days to make this region prosperous."

All the member states of BIMSTEC should work together to make the upcoming summit a success and achieve common goals and agendas. The member states have to remember that though BIMSTEC was formed to foster regional ties, it is yet to achieve its intended goals.