The first-ever foreign ministers’ meeting of BIMSTEC was held in Thailand’s capital city Bangkok on Monday. The leaders discussed how to further deepen the strength and agenda of the organisation and also agreed on the importance of creating a crisis response mechanism.Â
The meeting was attended by Indian Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. S Jaishankar who informed that the discussions held were focused on strengthening resilience and coordination among the BIMSTEC members, reflecting on the world’s present-day challenges.Â
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BIMSTEC is a grouping of seven members, it stands for Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation. The foreign ministers’ retreat was hosted by Thailand and was attended by all members, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan.Â
Official Statement by Thailand Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Statement from Thiland’s Foreign Ministry informed that the leaders agreed on the importance of creating a crisis response mechanism to coordinate for different contingencies. Other issues were in focus as well, including food, energy, public health, financial security, and trade and economic cooperation.Â
The statement further noted that the foreign ministers have considered establishing digital payment systems and trade settlements. Leaders also mutually agreed on strengthening cooperation in cyber security and prevention of transactional crimes.Â
Ministers lauded the progress in the setting up of the Eminent Persons Group which will prepare the road map and ensure the benefits to the member countries of the organisation. All the members expressed their renewed interest to build a stronger, more resilient, and more relevant grouping, as per the statement.Â
The ministers stressed the need to continue to hold discussions and coordination on global issues including Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as climate change, as per the statement. A few other topics like, BIMSTEC grid interconnection, cultural cooperation, youth exchange, agriculture technology and diplomatic training were also a part of the discussions held during the retreat.Â
About BIMSTEC GroupingÂ
Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional multifaceted organisation. It was established in 1997 with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration, and was initially called BIST-EC (Bangladesh- India-Sri Lanka-Thailand Economic Corporation). Later in 1997, Myanmar also joined the grouping and Nepal and Bhutan became a part in 2004.
Initially, the BIMSTEC cooperation was on six sectors, energy, trade, technology, transport, tourism and fisheries, and was later expanded to other areas. Starting in 2021, each member state started to lead certain sectors, where India’s focus is on energy, security, counter-terrorism, transactional crime and disaster management.Â
Even though the grouping existed for many years, it was not as active as it is today. Largely being ignored for most of the time it gained its importance in 2016 when India gave it a push after the Uri terror attack. At present, all the member countries have a strategic incentive in the growth of the organisation.Â
India being the largest economy in the region, has a lot at stake. Keeping in mind China and its Belt and Road Initiative, which passes through almost all member countries, except India and Bhutan, BIMSTEC is one of the crucial platforms for India and other members to counter China’s dominance.Â
EMA S Jaishankar’s Six-Day-Long Visit
EMA S Jaishankar was on a six-visit to Indonesia and Thailand, starting from 12th July. In Jakarta, he attended Foreign Ministers’ meeting under the ASEAN framework in the format, ASEAN-India, East Asia Summit and ASEAN regional forum.Â
On 16th July he took part in the 12th Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC) in Bangkok. Lastly, he attended the BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers Meeting on 17th July and ended his visit today by briefly visiting Ayutthaya and reminding all of the deep cultural connection with the region.Â
