BIMSTEC

• BIMSTEC Secretariat has finalized BIMSTEC charter expected to 
• define a long-term vision and priorities for cooperation,
• clearly delineating roles and responsibilities of different layers of institutional structure
• define decision-making processes
• BIMSTEC is running with the spirit of Bangkok Declaration of 1997 which is not comprehensive in nature & does not account for the changed geo-political scenario
• BIMSTEC has identified 14 priority areas where a member country takes lead
• India is lead country for Transport & Communication, Tourism, Environment & Disaster Management and Counter Terrorism & Transnational Crime.
• 14 fields to 7 sectors: ✓ Trade, Investment & Development, ✓ Environment and Climate Change, ✓ Security, ✓ Agriculture and Food Security, ✓ People-to-People Contact, ✓ Science, technology & Innovation, ✓ Connectivity.

Significance of BIMSTEC for India

• Economic: significant trade bloc in Asia-Pacific. Bay of Bengal is the route for about 25 per cent of global trade and has huge untapped natural resources such as natural gas. 
• Accelerate integration of South Asia: With SAARC proving to be a “dysfunctional” , BIMSTEC as a subregional grouping of South Asia provides an opportunity for India to integrate South Asia without Pakistan.
• Connecting South Asia and Southeast Asia: India focus on connectivity projects in and around the Bay of Bengal region.
• India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway, the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project and the BIMSTEC Motor Vehicle Agreement
• Physical connectivity with BIMSTEC help India integrate itself with ASEAN’s Master Plan of Connectivity 2025
• All the members (except Sri Lanka) are connected by land, providing a stronger potential for greater connectivity among them
• Development of North eastern region: BIMSTEC Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as a commercial and business hub for Southeast Asia. Sittwe port in Myanmar is closer to the northeast region than Kolkata.
• To counter Chinese influence: in India’s neighbourhood through its Belt and Road Initiatives. India, through its economic engagement with Bay of Bengal littoral states will restrict Chinese influence in these countries
• Energy security: BIMSTEC region has huge untapped reserve of natural gas, the future of power supply. India, along with other BIMSTEC countries, is exploring energy opportunities at the Rakhine coast of Myanmar in the northern part of the Bay of Bengal. 

Challenges with BIMSTEC

• Lack of political will: Dormancy due to absence of effective and sustained political will among member countries.  Since 1997, BIMSTEC leaders met only four times at the summit level
• BIMSTEC FTA: adopted a framework to negotiate an FTA in 2004  little progress was achieved
• Regional geopolitics: Nepal and Thailand not participating in the first BIMSTEC anti-terror military exercise conducted at Pune in India in 2018.
• Perception of Indian hegemony: India-dominated bloc, a problem that India faced for a long time in SAARC too. Bangladesh often fear that whenever India discusses connectivity, it means benefits only for India. Such fears & apprehensions question the basic fabric of BIMSTEC and foster mistrust. However, due to changing geo-economics, most of the smaller neighbours today are more willing to engage India due to its economic rise. India needs to proactively engage them and show sensitivity to their concerns
• Physical Infrastructure: poor road and rail connectivity, insufficient last-mile links and cumbersome customs and clearance procedures which hamper trade.
• Absence of strong institutional framework: BIMSTEC Secretariat, established in 2014 at Dhaka, has been unable to adequately contribute to the development of the organisation

Way Forward

• focus less on geo-politics and more on common regional concerns of economic and social development
• Conclude FTA as early as possible. FTA can help in deepening cross-border production links
• need for increasing its membership base. BIMSTEC should consider expanding its membership to Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore
• Prioritize sustained physical connectivity and high-quality infrastructure, to facilitate greater regional flows of goods& services
• Empower the BIMSTEC secretariat with greater financial resources enabling it to proactively drive the organization’s agenda.